Uncertainty over water treatment plant in C’Bazar

Shahjahan Chowdhury Shahin, Cox’s Bazar

Despite the completion of the clean water supply project at the cost of Tk 130 crore in the tourist town of Cox's Bazar, there has been great uncertainty regarding the benefits of the project due to non-connection of house-to-house lines.

Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) has completed 95% of the surface water treatment plant project on the banks of the Bakkhali River in Cox's Bazar suburb, which started in 2019. However, due to lack of allocation, the work of establishing house-to-house connection line has not yet started. In this situation, there is dissatisfaction among millions of people in the tourist town.

The project officials say, subject to the allocation, the connection line installation work will start this month. At the beginning of next year, safe water will reach every house. By this, about 1 lakh people of Cox's Bazar Town will come under safe water facility.

It is known that after the Rohingya infiltration in 2017, the water level in Cox's Bazar District dropped day by day as a result of extra water extraction from underground. As a result, in addition to fresh water shortage, the level of saline in the water also increases. Under the Ukhia-Teknaf Emergency Assistance Project, the government has taken up the surface water treatment plant project at the mouth of the Bakkhali River in Cox's Bazar to eliminate the shortage of fresh water. The DPHE is implementing the project with a grant of Tk 130 crore from the Asian Development Bank. Local residents have demanded that the project be implemented quickly to ensure safe water supply to the tourist town.

Contracting Company-AC-ABL (JV) Proprietor Md Nurul Alam informed, “The construction of treatment plant on 2.1750 acres of land on the bank of the Bakkhali River in Chader Para of Jhilongja Union in Cox's Bazar Sadar Upazila has been completed. Five overhead tanks or elevated reservoirs have been constructed in the town’s Goaldighi side tank hill 1along with a mother tank in the area adjacent to Bir Shrestha Ruhul Amin Stadium, South Rumaliarchhara, Sugandha Point on the beach and the bus terminal area. The connection line from the water treatment plant to the tank has been completed.”

Cox's Bazar DPHE Executive Engineer Mostafizur Rahman said, “The project work started in 2019 and the project term ended in June 2023. It has been proposed to extend the duration of the project till June 2025 in the second phase. At the end of the work, the project is supposed to be commissioned to the municipality. However, there is public uncertainty about the benefits of the project.”

He also said, “If the work of establishing connection lines to houses is completed, about 1 lakh people of the town will get the benefit of safe water throughout the year.”

Golam Muktadir, project director of the water treatment plant project, said, “It has been proposed to bring the house-to-house connection line package into the new project. The proposal was approved by the Ministry and sent to the Planning Commission. If approved by the Planning Commission, the work will be completed within the specified time.”

Concerned people hope that if the water treatment plant of Cox's Bazar Municipality is started quickly, the citizens will get some relief with safe water.