Water crisis grips Satkhira town due to fall in water tables
Procession, rally marking World Water Day
Scarcity of safe drinking water has taken a serious turn in Satkhira town in the last few days causing immense sufferings to the town dwellers as the municipal authorities cannot supply around half of the required quantity of water.
Residents of Bakal, Kukhrali, Parkukharali, Rasulpur, Mehedibagh, Masterpara, Madhyakatia, Palashpole, Raispur, Baddipur colony and Itagachha are worst sufferers as water tables marked fall in those areas.
Satkhira municipality sources said, water cannot be lifted as per demand through the pumps due to decline in water table. Most of the pumps remain inoperative also due to frequent load-shedding and voltage fluctuation.
According to sources, there are 7,100 water connections for over one lakh and 35,000 people in the municipality while the authorities are now supplying 6,300 litres of water against the demand of about 11,000 litres.
They said, there are two overhead water tanks to supply water to the residents of the town with a capacity of 1100 litres of water each. On the other hand, one out of six production tubewells went out of order in February last.
While visiting a few affected areas yesterday, this correspondent found women crowding around taps to collect drinking water. Abdur Razzak and Nawsher Ali of Raispur said the town dwellers are suffering a lot as water supply remained suspended in the area for the last five days.
Patients at Satkhira Sadar Hospital and other private clinics suffer a lot due to the scarcity of drinking water.
Relatives of the patients procure water from far away places for drinking, bathing and washing clothes.
Due to sharp fall in groundwater level, it is not possible to lift around half of the required water through pumps, said supervisor of water supply centre's of Satkhira municipality Selim Sarowar. Most of the water pumps remain inoperative in dry season, he added.
Satkhira municipal mayor M A Jalil said that his office invited two separate tenders to install two deep tubewells to lift water in a bid to solve the water crisis. The work is expected to be completed within three months, he added.
Meanwhile, scores of people from all walks of life under the banner of Sachetan Nagarik Committee, Satkhira district chapter of TIB, brought out a procession, formed a human chain followed by a rally in the town demanding access to safe drinking water.
To mark the World Water Day 2012, they gathered on a street carrying banners in the morning and paraded the main thoroughfares of the town. Later they formed a human chain at Laboni Cinema Hall intersection.
A rally was also held there with committee president Abdul Mannana in the chair.
The Speakers said over 50 lakh people living in the coastal areas of Satkhira, Khulna and Bagerhat districts are facing acute scarcity of safe drinking water due to arsenic contamination in ground water, use of toxic elements in arable lands and discharge of industrial wastes in the rivers.
They also urged the government to take steps to remove salinity from surface water.
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