98% of the country has water supply: LGRD minister
Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives (LGRD) Minister Tajul Islam has said 98% of the country has water supply.
The minister made the comment while addressing the Parliament Monday (6 June) in response to a supplementary question posed by BNP lawmaker Harunur Rashid.
He also mentioned that the progress made by the government in regards to water supply has made history in the world.
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"The government has been conducting surface water treatment in various divisional and district towns including Dhaka city, wherever it is possible," he said.
"Surface water treatment is underway in villages, but it is time-consuming. As people need water right away, we are arranging deep tubewells to maintain continuous water supply," he added.
The government is planning to shift 70% of the used water to surface water by 2030, said the minister.
"The government is working hard to provide safe-to-drink water even in villages," said Tajul.
BNP Member of Parliament Harun noted that different countries, including India, have made separate arrangements for drinking water and water used for other purposes.
"Doing so in our country will greatly reduce water wastage," he suggested, adding that river or rain harvested water can be supplied after surface water filtration through pipelines in villages instead of installing deep tube wells.
