Chattogram Wasa water to reach Patenga after 63 years

More than 3.5 lakh residents of Patenga are set to receive Wasa water for the first time as Chattogram Wasa has initiated steps to extend pipeline-based water supply to three wards of the port city's coastal area.

The long-awaited initiative comes after authorities resolved a seven-year-long complication over pipeline installation and expect to begin supplying water within the next six months.

Residents of wards 39, 40 and 41 under Chattogram City Corporation have long remained outside the Wasa water network despite the utility's establishment in 1963.

According to Wasa officials, water will be supplied from the Bhandaljuri Water Supply Project in Boalkhali through the utility duct of the Karnaphuli Tunnel.

To this end, Chattogram Wasa Managing Director Engineer Salim Mohammad Jane Alam on 3 June sought approval from the Local Government Division for installation of the pipeline through the tunnel's utility duct.

The Bhandaljuri project currently has a production capacity of 60 million litres of water per day and supplies water to Anwara, Patiya, Karnaphuli and Boalkhali areas.

Chattogram Wasa Chief Engineer Maksud Alam said Patenga's daily demand is around 100 million litres. Initially, 60 million litres will be supplied, while the remaining demand is expected to be met within two to three years under a World Bank-funded project.

Managing Director Salim Mohammad Jane Alam said the longstanding pipeline issue had recently been resolved, paving the way for the project.

He expressed optimism that residents of the three wards would start receiving Wasa water within six months.