& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Water supply in criminal clutch

WASA staff's laid-back, corrupt approach makes things even worse

MAMINUL ISLAM
Hoodlums and corrupt, callous staff reign supreme at pump houses of the Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA), leading to water crunch in the city.
In some areas, local hoodlums pressure the pump house employees to divert the direction of water towards their houses or those of their
'big bosses', said a top official of WASA.
Besides, employees at the pump houses themselves do not do their job and look for quick money through illegal means, he added.
"One pump supplies water in two to five directions and for each direction water lines connected with the pump have locks. Pump house employees are supposed to control those locks so that water goes in
SEE PAGE 11 COL 7 FROM PAGE 1 each direction," the official said, asking not to be named.
But, sometimes they forget to change the water direction or they do not bother to since they reach some underhand deal with local influential people, he said.
Executive Engineer of WASA Zone-4 (Mirpur) AFM Aziz said yesterday pumps in many areas including Kazipara and Pirerbagh stopped working after local hoodlums threatened to divert water toward a certain direction.
Acute water crisis hits the city every summer as demand shoots up. This year the government has deployed 165 army personnel including 15 officers in six WASA to ensure uninterrupted supply.
He said army was deployed to assist WASA employees. "They would also monitor the activities of pump house employees," he said.
Asked why army needs to be called in to monitor his staff, Aziz said they are short of manpower to do the monitoring. "Besides, like every government offices there are some problems to control all the employees."
Before talking to the Daily Star, Aziz briefed two army personnel about the water situation in Mirpur. Aziz also told his colleagues to be in the office in time.
Aziz however pointed that the fall in water level and frequent power outages are responsible for water crisis.
Each pump now extracts 30 per cent water less than what they did two weeks ago due to fall in water table, he said.
An army officer at zone-4 admitted that they received some allegations of irregularities by pump house employ-
ees and influence by local hoodlums.
"Our roving team would monitor all the water pump houses and we would supply water in the crisis-hit area by our own carriers," he said.
Twenty-five army personnel were deployed in Mirpur area.