Govt plans Tk25,000cr project to ensure safe water nationwide
Saline water from the Bay of Bengal is moving further upstream and worsening drinking water shortages in the south.
Highlight:
- Funding discussions held with Unicef, other organisations
- Project to cost Tk25,000cr
- Upstream water withdrawals drying up rivers
- Salinity rising in south, fears of desertification in north
The government is planning an integrated project worth around Tk25,000 crore to ensure access to safe drinking water for 180 million people across the country, said Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Abdul Moin Khan.
He made the remarks while speaking to journalists after a meeting with a Unicef delegation at the Secretariat today (8 October).
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The minister said ensuring safe water for the people of Bangladesh has become a major challenge. Although rivers have sufficient water, water shortages are emerging in different parts of the country due to upstream water withdrawals and the drying up of rivers.
Moin said water is essential for human life, but contaminated water can also cause death. "Therefore, we must ensure access to safe water for all 180 million people in Bangladesh. The meeting mainly focused on this challenge," he said.
The minister said water is being withdrawn upstream from rivers. "As the rivers dry up, desertification is taking place in the northern districts. At the same time, there is another impact in the southern region," he said.
Noting that water from Bangladesh's rivers eventually flows into the Bay of Bengal, he said reduced river flows allow saline seawater to move upstream.
Moin said it is the government's responsibility to ensure access to safe drinking water after taking all these issues into consideration.
"To this end, we discussed working together with various United Nations agencies, as well as how the proposed project would be financed," he said.
Asked about the estimated cost of the proposed project, the minister said discussions had been held with Unicef and several other organisations.
"If we combine the funding proposed by all these organisations, the project would be worth around $2.1 billion, or approximately Tk25,000 crore," he said.
Representatives of the World Bank and WaterAid, along with Unicef, were also present at the meeting, the minister said. He added that efforts were underway to develop an integrated plan involving these organisations.
