Desa turns to Wasa in despair
Kausar Islam Ayon
Dhaka Electric Supply Authority (Desa) in desperation to curtail the shortage of electricity is trying to persuade Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) to close down their pumps in the city for at least two hours daily, apart from the regular load shedding, Wasa sources said. Wasa officials said this decision would be suicidal, as the water supply, already in shortfall, will reduce drastically creating a chaotic situation during the month of Ramadan. Wasa officials said their operational 447 pumps altogether could produces 7.25 crore litres of water every hour, and shutting down the pumps for two hours would cause a deficiency of 14.50 crore litres to the existing supply which would enhance the existing crisis. "Our production at the moment is already 40 crore litres less than the daily demand while regular load shedding deceases our capacity by another 10 to 12 crore litres. Now if we intentionally do not produce another 15 crore litres, the entire situation would deteriorate considerably," said a high official of Wasa. The official said the Secretary to the Power Development Board (PDB) has requested Wasa to keep the pumps shut for two hours everyday. "We consume on an average, 26.82 megawatt of electricity to run the pumps everyday which means only 2.22 megawatt in two hours. The water should not be interrupted to just save two megawatts of electricity when the electricity deficiency is around 2,000 to 2,200 megawatt a day," said the official. He also said that power authorities should consider other alternatives as in shutting down city markets during peak hours. "The Power authority wants to give us a share of public wrath which is now on them in trying to curtail the supply of water as well," the official added. When contacted the acting managing director (MD) of Wasa Hedayet Ullah Al-Mamun did not wanted to comment on the matter. However, he said that if he receives any such request, he will try to convince the authority against taking such a decision, which he thinks would create a water crisis in the city. "The power authorities should consider options of overcoming the existing situation while we have to consider our clients' interest," he added. Mamun also said that the co-ordinating committee consisting members from Desa, Wasa and Desco would come to a decision in this regard. "I believe we wouldn't have to take any such decisions," said the acting MD. The PDB Secretary could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.
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