MYMENSINGH MUNICIPALITY Majority people out of water supply coverage

http://www.newagebd.com/2009/jul/16/home.html

Most of the dwellers in the Mymensingh municipality are out of water supply coverage and those who are under the supply network never get water round the clock, a study showed.

Only 22 per cent of the dwellers have access to the municipality water supply while the rest 78 per cent collect water from other sources, revealed the study of VOICE, a research group.
 The study showed that a large number of dwellers are pilfering water through illegal connections as corruption and mismanagement in water supply go rampant in the municipality.

‘The municipality supplies water only for four hours a day, leaving the dwellers in serious problems,’ Ahmed Swapan Mahmud, executive director of VOICE, said revealing the findings of study. He said the study was carried out recently to assess the current state of people’s access to safe drinking water in Mymensingh municipality.

Around 25 per cent respondents said, they fell victims to fake bills while 90 per cent of them complained about irregular supply of water. Most of them also had complaints about safety of the supplied water.

A discussion on the research findings was held at the SUPRO office on Tuesday. A documentary tiled ‘Troubled Waters: Water Sector Transparency and Accountability’ was screened.
The study report recommended formation of citizens’ committee with participation of commoners in the management system and formulation of citizens’ charters.

The participants observed that the authorities concerned should work out a mechanism to ensure transparency and accountability in water supply management and delivery of safe water for all dwellers of the municipality.
Uma Chowdhury, director of SUPRO, Farjana Akter of VOICE, Al Razi, M Zakaria and Mousumi Biswas took part in the discussion.