Dhaka (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Hundreds of people defied a ban on public demonstrations to stage protests today in Bangladesh’ capital of Dhaka against a shortage of drinking water. A falling water table and the lack of power to run water pumps have led to a serious shortfall of drinking water in the city of 11 million.
Hundreds of residents came together in the streets demanding an end to the water and power shortages that have in the past sparked violent protests.
The authorities have asked the army to help supervise the distribution of water in the city.
Bangladesh is governed by an army-backed interim administration which has banned all public protests under a state of emergency imposed last year.
“The situation is turning from bad to worse every day, we stand in long queues for hours for water,’ said rickshaw-puller Mohammad Salam outside a roadside water pump.
Members of his family were also standing in queues elsewhere in the city to obtain water.
As a result of frequent power cuts and a fall in groundwater level, the Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority can only supply 1.50 billion litres of water a day against a demand of 2.25 billion litres.
Some 86 per cent of the capital's water supply comes from underground sources but declining groundwater levels at the rate of three metres each year has worsened the situation.
The daily shortage of electricity in the city had soared to 1,500 megawatts because of lack of enough natural gas to run power plants.
Barely 40 percent of the country's more than 140 million people have access to power.
More than 20 people, mostly farmers, were killed in clashes with police, mostly in northern Bangladesh in 2006, during demonstrations demanding adequate power for irrigation.
