FARIDPUR, Aug 7: Acute scarcity of drinking water has been prevailing in Faridpur Pourashava for long time. The water supplied by the pourashava can hardly meet twentyfive per cent needs of the people. Besides tjie water contains iron to such an extent that it cannot be used even for bathing and washing clothes.
The population of Faridpur Pourashava is nearly one lakh and the requirement of water in the area for various pur-. poses Is about thirty lakh gallons a day. But the pourashava supplies only six lakh gallons of water everyday. And this scanty supply Is not* even steady and sometfmes the supply of water is so poor that people have to procure water from nearly ponds and ditches for domestic use other than drinking.
Out of total six lakh gallons of water supplied by the pourashava. only 3.5 lakh gallons is filtered and the rest is supplied directly from deep tubewell. This unfiltered water is unhealthy and causes intestinal disorders if drunk.
It may be mentioned that the overhead water tank built
in Goalchaniat area of the town about a decade ago at a huge cost has yet been put into commission.
If commissioned the demand of pure drinking water of the pourashava would be greatly mitigated.
Admitting the poor supply of drinking water. a spokesman of pourashava opined that they would be able to meet the total demand of drinking water by the end of 19^flh this end in view, the poura .authority is working hard and doing their utmost to utilise Taka eleven crores funded by Asian Development Bank (ADB) for ensuring smooth and sufficient supply of pure drinking water in the poura area.
Project completes
Daulatdia-Faridpur section of 145 km Daulatdia-Kushtia Highway project has been completed to the great relief of the people of the area.
The smooth plying of the vehicles of all kinds has fulfilled the long standing aspiration of the people at large. Construction work of this ADB
financed project was taken up in July 1990 by China National Complete Plant Corporation — a Chinese construction firm on international tender at a cost of Tk 147 crores 80 lakhs.
But the work could not be completed within the stipulated period allegedly due to certain reasons including possession of some lands acquired whleh caused difficulties for the vehicles to ply through the road.
According to the company source, the company later entered into a fresh agreement to complete the whole project by March 1995. The source further disclosed that they engaged a fresh team from China along with some equipments and with an earnest desire to complete the project within the period fixed afresh they worked vigorously even at night and have been awarded with calculated effect.
The source further told this correspondent that they are sure to fully complete the work by 1994 In place of 1-995. They also landed the co-operation extended to them by the consultants and the department concerned;