The Daily Star June 15, 2002 


      DPHE gets Tk 10.5cr aid to implement arsenic-free water projects

      Staff Correspondent


      The World Bank will give Tk 10.5 crore for supply of safe water in 
      Chapainawabganj, Kushtia, Chuadanga and Moheshpur (Jhenidah) 
      municipalities where pipeline water is arsenic-contaminated beyond the 
      permissible level.
      The Department of Public Health and Engineering (DPHE), now supplying the 
      contaminated water, will implement four projects in the four municipal 
      towns on an emergency basis with the funds. 
      The funds will be diverted from projects of Bangladesh Arsenic Mitigation 
      Water Supply Project (BAMWSP), aided by the WB and Swiss development 
      Cooperation (SDC).
      This was decided at a meeting of DPHE and World Bank officials here on 
      Thursday last, sources said. 
      The DPHE will install a Tk three crore plant in Chapainawabganj to treat 
      Mahananda river water for impurities and supply it to the town dwellers. 
      The existing pipeline network in the town will also be expanded. 
      In the three other towns, it will set up three plants each costing T.2.5 
      crore to remove arsenic from deep tubewell water which is supplied through 
      pipeline.
      The four projects will be completed by June next year, the sources said. 
      The action followed a report in The Daily Star on June 10 titled 'The deaf 
      DPHE', highlighting the authorities' inaction as regards supply of safe 
      water in the four towns despite having options in hand.
      Against the permissible level of 0.05 mg per litre, the level of arsenic 
      was found to be 0.07 to 0.16 mg/L in Chuadanga, 0.08 to 0.06 mg/L in 
      Kushtia, 0.09 to 0.15 mg/L in Moheshpur and 0.08mg/L in Chaipainawabganj.
      Water of all the deep tubewells in the four municipalities were found to 
      be arsenic-contaminated. 
      The levels of contamination were detected when water sample collected by 
      BAMWSP were tested at the laboratory of Bangladesh Council of Scientific 
      and Industrial Research (BCSIR) in August-November last year. 
      But the DPHE neither took any measure to remove the toxic chemical nor 
      shut down the wells, sources in the DPHE said.
      The meeting on Thursday was attended by four WB officials; Abdul Quadir, 
      BAMWSP Project Director; Abu Muslim, DPHE Chief Engineer; A K Firoz Ahmed 
      of BUET and high officials of Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) 
      and Geological Survey of Bangladesh (GSB).

       

      'Raise awareness to checkenvironmental degradation'

      APFEJ workshop ends

      BSS, Dhaka


      Speakers at a workshop yesterday underscored the need for raising 
      awareness in Asia-Pacific countries to check environmental degradation for 
      sustainable development.
      They were addressing the concluding session of the First Regional Workshop 
      on South-South Exchange programme of Asia-Pacific Forum of Environmental 
      Journalists of South Asia (APFEJ). Secretary General of APFEJ and Chairman 
      of Forum of Environment Journalists of Bangladesh (FEJB) Quamrul Islam 
      Chowdhury presided.
      In the closing session, Tor Elden, a representative of Fredskorpset, 
      expressed his satisfaction that negotiations and drawing of partnership 
      agreements among different organisations of southern countries had taken 
      place in a fruitful way.
      Zaigham Khan from Pakistan emphasised the importance of regional 
      partnership like this from which countries of the region can learn a lot 
      under one roof.
      Dharman Wickremeratne, president of the APFEJ, said that establishing 
      contact with a Norwegian organisation is the most significant achievement 
      of this workshop.
      Taranath Dahal, Chairman of Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ), 
      emphasised the need for bringing together the organisations of the region 
      under the umbrella of the South-South programme.
      He expressed his optimism that this programme would bring closer the 
      people and experts of South Asia for facilitating further cooperation 
      among them.
      Elezabeth Roxas from the Philippines said media can help bring positive 
      change into the production and consumption pattern of the people of 
      Asia-Pacific region.
      Quamrul Islam Chowdhury thanked Fredskorpset for coming forward to sponsor 
      the South-South Exchange Programme for environmental journalists and 
      non-governmental organisations of South Asia.
      Environmental journalists and activists from Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, 
      the Maldives, Nepal, Vietnam, the Philippines and Combodia took part in 
      the workshop.