Water experts at a seminar on Thursday stressed providing legal water connection to the city slums with a view to ensuring access to safe water for the slum dwellers. They said the slum dwellers are always keen to have legal water connection of WASA and pay for the water, but often they are denied legal connection as the musclemen occupy the slums and provide illegal water connections, forcing the slum dwellers to pay exorbitant price for water. Dhaka WASA, Population Services and Training Centre (PSTC), Dustha Shasthya Kendra (DSK), Unicef and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) jointly organised the seminar titled, ‘Legal Water Connections to Korail Slum: Sharing Experience and What Next!’ at a city hotel. State Minister for LGRD and Cooperatives Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Local Government Division secretary Abu Alam M Shahid Khan, Chief of Water, Sanitation, Hygiene (WASH) Section of Unicef Charlie Hrachya Sargsyan and chairman of Dhaka Wasa Board Engr M Rahmatullah spoke at the seminar. Dhaka WASA managing director Engr Taqsem A Khan presided. Jahangir Kabir Nanak said legal and safe water is the fundamental right of every citizen, and the present government is committed to ensure that right. He congratulated the Unicef and the Asian Development Bank for their initiative to bring the slum people of Dhaka city under the legal water connections. Abu Alam M Shahid Khan praised the success of Dhaka WASA in their ceaseless efforts to fulfill the city dwellers’ demand of safe water and also increase the revenue income. Charlie Hrachya Sargsyan urged the Dhaka WASA to take steps to supply water to the city slums and assured of providing all out support in future. Engr Taqsem A Khan said that for the first time in its history, Dhaka WASA is now able to produce surplus water. “Dhaka WASA has great achievement in increasing the revenue income and lowering system loss with sustainable growth in the recent years.” He informed that Dhaka WASA is currently providing safe water legally to 63,618 families of 300 slums through 977 connections, including 15,554 families of Korail through 226 connections. Senior government officials, representatives from ADB, World Bank, AFD and different non-government organisations attended the seminar. As a successful water management authority among four short-listed cities, Dhaka WASA recently won the Water Leaders’ Award-2013 at the Global Water Summit held in Seville, Spain on 22-23 April this year. Engr Taqsem A Khan received the award and US$ 10,000 for its successes under the ‘Dhaka WASA Turnaround Programme’ and specially for its success in providing drinking water for the Low Income Community (LIC) of the capital city. Dhaka WASA is spending the US$ 10,000 it received with the Water Leaders Award for supplying water to the low income people under its Lower Income Community Programme. – UNB
