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Chittagong WASA has started the process of increasing the price by 30 percent for residential customers to reduce the subsidy on water supply. At the same time, 50 percent price hike has been proposed for commercial customers. Wasa claims that the company is currently supplying water at a lower price than the cost of production. For this, subsidy has to be paid. In the report of the committee formed on March 27 to reduce the subsidy, it has been recommended to increase the price of water in the residential and commercial sectors.
On April 16, the report was approved by the Chittagong WASA board meeting. The relevant authorities said that only after the resolution, it will be sent to the Ministry of Local Government. The managing director of Chittagong WASA claims that currently, 1000 liters of water is being produced at 32 taka. 18 taka is being charged from residential customers and 37 taka from commercial customers for supplying this water.
Meanwhile, the news of the increase in the price of Wasa water has caused dissatisfaction among the common consumers. The brunt of the price hike will fall on 80 percent of the renters living in the city. However, despite the fact that the service company is making a profit through the sale of water, many people are saying that the proposal to increase the price by 30 percent in one jump is unreasonable.
Chittagong WASA sources said that during the last five years, the production of water decreases during hot weather. The water that comes in is also salty. Consumers in different areas are forced to rely on purchased water. This year, from March 10, the production decreased by 7 to 8 crore liters.
In the meantime, as the issue of increasing the price of water has come to the fore, criticism has started about it. Customers are raising questions about water quality. Many areas including Halishahar, North and South Patenga, Katgarh, Baklia, Kornelhat, Akbar Shah, Pahartali are facing crisis due to salinity. Currently Chittagong WASA has 78 thousand 542 residential customer connections and 7 thousand 767 commercial connections. The city is supplied with water through about 1,200 km of pipelines. Kazi Shahidul Islam, commercial manager of Chittagong WASA, said that there is already a rule to increase the price of water at the rate of 5 percent every year. However, it has not been done in the last three years after 2021. Electricity prices have increased during this period. A price hike proposal has been adopted to meet the cost of water treatment. The resolution will be sent to the ministry.
In this context, the central vice president of Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), a national organization that protects the interests of consumers, said that Dhaka Wasa is supplying 1,000 liters of water at Tk 15. But Chittagong Wasa is taking 18 Tk. However, increasing the price is unreasonable. Moreover, the process of increasing the price of WASA water has started at a time when the prices of all kinds of daily commodities are high. Common people are already disorientated in managing expenses with income. If the price of water increases again, it will be more difficult. Its charges are to be paid by common tenants.
When asked to know, Chittagong WASA managing director AKM Fazlullah told Yugantar that it costs 32 taka to produce 1000 liters of water. But we are selling at 18 taka. Huge amount of subsidy is being given. Moreover, while implementing various projects of WASA, loans have been taken from different countries. If the loan installments are not paid, the loan will be blocked. Initiatives have been taken to increase the price of water to keep the balance of the institution.
