Special Correspondent: Local residents in the capital’s Khilkhet area have been pushed into immense suffering due to a severe stench and yellowish, discolored water supplied by Dhaka WASA. Despite this water being completely unusable for a long period, allegations have surfaced that the WASA authorities are not taking any effective measures. The affected residents have expressed extreme anger and dissatisfaction as no solution has been provided even after repeated communication and complaints to the regional WASA office. They allege that Dhaka WASA has prioritized its own apathy over customer service and public health.

According to local residents, the WASA water supplied to houses across various wards and neighborhoods in the Khilkhet area cannot be made usable even after boiling or filtering, let alone drinking directly. The moment the tap is turned on, a foul, drain-like stench spreads throughout the entire house. The color of the water is also far from naturally clear; rather, it is visibly yellowish and discolored. This has made tasks like cooking, washing daily dishes, bathing, or performing ablutions (Wudu) completely impossible. Consequently, thousands of people are enduring a living hell just to meet their basic daily needs.

Dr. Umme Maryam Mita, a prominent citizen and physician of the area, has expressed sharp resentment and constructive protest against this gross mismanagement and institutional apathy. Highlighting the public health risks, she said, “Water is another name for life, and WASA is playing with our lives. This severely foul-smelling, yellowish water is not even fit to touch for any ordinary chores, let alone use. As a physician, I can unequivocally state that using this contaminated and microbe-infested water could trigger epidemics of diarrhea, typhoid, jaundice, gastric issues, and severe skin diseases in the area. Children, in particular, are at the highest risk due to this water. Do we pay regular water bills to WASA just to buy this toxic water? The silence and indifference of the WASA authorities, despite creating such a grave risk to public health, is entirely unacceptable. This is a clear violation of civic rights. A sustainable and scientific solution to this crisis must be implemented immediately.”

Meanwhile, deeply affected and enraged local resident Masud Parvez vented his intense frustration regarding WASA’s irresponsible behavior, saying, “Our patience has run out. The current state of WASA’s water has made it impossible to stay inside our homes. Opening the tap feels like drain filth is directly entering the house. You can’t stay indoors due to the stench, and the water is completely yellow. Can people survive or stay healthy with this water? There is no end to complaints against Dhaka WASA, but it seems they do not care at all. They think we will suffer in silence. Are we not human? We pay our taxes and bills on time, only to be fed drain filth and poison in the name of water—this can no longer be tolerated. We do not want to hear any more empty promises. If WASA does not resolve this problem quickly, we, the residents, will be forced to take to the streets in fierce protest.”

Amidst this backdrop of public anger and suffering, Jahid Ikbal, a senior journalist and prominent social activist in the
Nikunja-Khilkhet area, presented a remarkably sharp and unique analysis regarding Dhaka WASA’s institutional accountability and legal loopholes. Expressing his views with heated yet unassailable logic, he stated, “It is not just the color of the water that has changed here; the character of the service institution has changed as well. Is Dhaka WASA a charity, or is it a commercial entity running on public tax money? They increase water tariffs every year like clockwork, but improving the quality of service remains trapped in files. This catastrophic failure in public service cannot be bypassed. If we fail to pay our water bill for a single month, won’t WASA cut off our connection the very next day? Then why shouldn’t criminal cases be filed under the Penal Code against the officials of an agency that has been crippling public life by supplying toxic and foul-smelling water to an entire area year after year? This is no longer a matter of simple negligence or a technical glitch; this is a clear institutional crime. If people’s tax and bill money is taken only to issue them a license for diseases in return, then the answer to that oppression will be decided on the streets. The conscious citizens of Khilkhet and Nikunja can no longer be fooled like this. WASA must remember that the days of this unaccountable autocracy are drawing to a close.”

On behalf of the residents, specific written and verbal complaints have been submitted multiple times to the Dhaka WASA MODS Zone-9 office. However, every time, the WASA authorities merely assured them that the matter would be investigated, failing to take any effective action on the ground. Due to this procrastination and customer harassment by WASA, the fury among the locals is intensifying day by day.

An investigation into Dhaka WASA’s water supply system reveals that the pipelines in many parts of the capital are decades old and dilapidated. In many places, the underground water supply lines have developed cracks, causing cross-contamination by mixing with the drainage/sewage system. Furthermore, mechanical faults in WASA’s deep tubewells or pumps, along with the depletion of the groundwater table, often cause muddy residue and chemically mixed yellowish water to enter the lines. Although WASA policymakers and top officials repeatedly trumpet high-sounding promises of ‘100% pure water’ and ‘green water’ in their campaigns, the ground reality in places like Khilkhet is entirely contrasting and horrific.

When contacted regarding the overall crisis, Nazrul Islam, the Assistant Engineer of Dhaka WASA MODS Zone-9 responsible for the Khilkhet area, masterfully evaded the entire issue. Failing to provide any satisfactory answer regarding the extreme public suffering and their own negligence on the ground, the official instead dodged responsibility and told the media, “I have nothing specific to say regarding this matter. If you or the residents have any information to seek or any complaints to lodge, please contact the WASA Head Office at Karwan Bazar directly.”

Analysts believe that such an indifferent, arrogant, and dismissive comment from a top responsible field-level official of an essential utility service provider will only cause the public’s anger to skyrocket.

The clear demand of the residents of Khilkhet is that—whether at the Head Office or the MODS Zone—WASA must immediately find a permanent solution to this dirty and foul-smelling water crisis and ensure safe, clear, and pure water for the citizens. Otherwise, the WASA authorities themselves will have to bear full responsibility for the intense public wrath and any potential rigorous movement.