Consumers Association of Bangladesh (Cab) today claimed that Taqsem A Khan, managing director of Dhaka Wasa, has chosen to impose the consequences of -- system loss, misuse of water, corruption and mismanagement in the organization -- on the consumers.
A keynote paper issued by Cab today came up with the remark.
According to the paper, Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) increased water tariff in April, 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic and again in September last year.
In two phases, Wasa raised tariffs by Tk 3.61 (31 percent) per unit (1,000 litres) for residential use and by Tk 4.96 (13 percent) for commercial use.
Wasa, which was set up to provide much-needed services to people, wants to increase water tariff by 20 percent to make up for its deficit, said the keynote paper.
"But it is possible to adjust the deficit by reducing the unnecessary expenses of the company. There is no need to hike water tariff," it said.
According to Wasa, it spends Tk 25 to produce one unit of water (1,000 litres) and sells it for Tk 15. The government provides Tk 10 as subsidy but it no longer wants to give subsidy.
Cab said that in this situation, the Wasa MD has chosen to reduce the subsidy by imposing all the liabilities -- mismanagement, misuse of water and corruption -- on the consumers.
