POVERTY: Piped water for Dhaka slums

Photo: Mushfique Wadud/IRIN

Millions don't have access to piped water

DHAKA, 13 June 2013 (IRIN) - The Bangladesh government has started work on delivering piped water to more than three million Dhaka slum dwellers by the end of 2014, say officials. 

“By 2015, all slum dwellers will have access to piped water,” Taqsem A Khan, the managing director of the Dhaka Water Supply & Sewerage Authority (WASA), told IRIN, citing the issue of water-borne diseases and their prevalence in slums. 

Under the current law, WASA is not allowed to provide water to homes without a holding number. However, that law will be amended making it no longer mandatory. The government has already started work in Korail, the country’s biggest slum, home to 40,000 people. 

“Piped water will help to curb waterborne diseases in the slums,” said Akhil Chandra Das, manager of NGO Dushtha Shasthya Kendra (DSK), which is involved in the initiative. 

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