The government has raised power tariff in the country by five paisa per unit and water and sewer rates in the city by five percent.

The enhanced power tariff is effective from March this year The new water and sewer rates will be effective from next month, sources said.

The rates were increased through separate circulars by the Energy Ministry and the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) on June I

The cost of jxjwer for domestic subscribers will now be Tk

2 10 per unit up to 300 units and for small Industrial units Tk 3 45 per unit. Power used for agriculture has not been raised

The new water rates will be Tk 4.30 per thousand litres and Tk 19 48 per thousand gallons for a domestic subscriber with meter. The rates will be Tk 14 and Tk 63.54 for commercial and industrial units.

The sewer rates will be equal to waler rates for subscribers having both the connections.

"We are forced to raise ihe water and sewer rates following increase In power rates several

times in the recent past”, WASA Chairman Prof Nazrul Islam said defending the hike.

Talking to The Dally Star he said the new water and sewer rates are two to three percent less than the increase In power tariff. The deficit would be met by reducing WASA's system loss from 4 I per cent now to 32 per cent by 2002, lie said.

He said subscribers who are yet to pay their bills will be allowed to clear those without surcharge (111 June 20.

WASA now supplies 121 crore litres of water per day in Dhaka city against a demand for 150 crore litres, which is increasing every year.

Nearly’ 96 percent of it is pumped but of the underground water table. The rest comes from Buriganga and Shita-lakhya rivers through eater treatment plants at Lalbagh. Syedabad and Narayanganj.

Prof Islam said that WAS/\ is working on a programme to increase the capacity ol Syedabad water treatment plant under a Tk 300 crore project.

Another ambitious pro-gramme to bring water from the Padma by a pipeline via Pagla to add 45 crore litres to the daily supply is awaiting government approval It will cost Tk 1400 crore, he added.