Dhaka to see improved sewerage system
UNB
The government has taken a number of projects to improve the sewerage system in the capital and bring Chittagong and Khulna cities under similar system of sewerage network, reports UNB.
Official documents, obtained by UNB, show that a sewerage master plan has been formulated to improve the sewerage system in capital as it is could not yet be brought under hundred per cent sewerage network.
According to the master plan, four sewerage treatment plants will be set up surrounding Dhaka city. The construction of the Dasherkandi Sewerage System Plant is going on as part of that master plan.
The other treatment plants will be constructed gradually for Dhaka Wasa (Water Supply Sewerage Authority) that was established in 1963.
In September 2012, Dhaka Wasa prepared a 23-year sewerage master plan involving US$ 2 billion to bring the whole city under its network.
In absence of sewerage system in many parts of Dhaka city, waste is being dumped in rivers, canals and other water bodies, causing serious water pollution.
In the first phase, as per the master plan, Pagla Sewerage Treatment Plant will be improved so that it can use its full capacity of treating 1.2 lakh cubic metres of waste. Currently, it treats only 40,000 cubic metres of waste.
Besides, the trunk sewerage from Madhubagh (near Tejgaon) to Pagla will be rehabilitated and new sewerage system will be built in Gulshan and Banani areas. Wasa will also rehabilitate or construct four lift stations at Tejgaon, Gulshan, Bashabo and Golapbagh.
Dhaka Wasa will construct two sewerage treatment plants in Narayanganj also. Five more treatment plants in Savar, Tongi, Keraniganj, Purbachal and Gazipur will be constructed by 2035.
There is no sewerage system in the port city Chittagong, according to the official documents.
Aiming to bring Chittagong under a sewerage network, a consultant has been appointed to prepare a master plan for the port city under the Chittagong water Supply Improvement and Sanitation Project (CWSISP).
After preparing the master plan, projects will be taken to introduce sewerage system in Chittagong.
Like the port city of Chittagong, Khulna Water Supply Sewerage authority (Kwasa) also does not have any sewerage system. But a feasibility study with financial assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has been completed to set up a sewerage system in Khulna.
As per the official document, steps will be taken to appoint consultants by the ADB by December this year for the project design and other related works.
