Monday | 13 January 2025 | Reg No- 06
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Monday | 13 January 2025 | Epaper

Gas burns, water boils, TIB reports...

Published : Tuesday, 30 April, 2019 at 12:00 AM  Count : 316
Mahbubar Rahman
Mahbubar Rahman

Mahbubar Rahman

One doesn't need to be a Copernicus or Galileo, these days, to understand that the earth spins on its own axis causing day and night in one rotation in 24 hours and goes round the sun causing a year in 365 days; with its two third of surface covering with water in the form of oceans and seas; and only one third covers with solid ground in the shape of plain lands, mountains, deserts and forestry. One need not also to be a biologist to understand, these days, that anatomy of all living being including humans contain 90% of its substance in liquid form in the shape of blood and other liquids.

Elementary scientific knowledge tells us that 97% of water that exists in the earth's oceans and seas are saline water not drinkable. Out of remaining 3% of the total reserve, 2.7% is reserved in the form of earth's glaciers and ice caps and underground aquifer and only 0.3% water is available as surface water in the form of earth's rivers and streams worth drinking. Elementary scientific studies further suggest that water boils at 100 degree Celsius and freezes at zero degree. Supply source of drinking water is so meagre and scarce that it is often said that next world-war will be fought centring on safe drinking water amongst nations. Therefore, one cannot ignore the importance of water in human life which is, otherwise, dubbed as life in the true sense of the term.

With the advancement of science & technology, natural sources of surface water is largely diminishing and contaminated due to discharge of industrial effluents in rivers, lakes and other sources of surface water.
In the rural Bangladesh, where water utility services are absent, people mostly live on water from tube-well or big tanks and ponds. With the increase of awareness and consciousness about public health, rural people boil their drinking water in clay-hearth with burning firewood and stay safe. In the urban areas like megacity of Dhaka, WASA takes care of supplying safe drinking water to the urban people, as far as possible, despite their limitations.

A recently published TIB report suggests that 90% of the users of WASA water boil their water by burning 3200 crore taka worth of natural gas per year, has created an outcry in the news media and TV talk show hosts creating storm in the tea mug on the discussion table centring on the failure of WASA to supply safe drinking water to the people.
TIB in its lofty report is right in the sense that natural gas is a precious energy source, not in abundance in Bangladesh, and its burning spree should not be hay wild for flimsy reason, as according to them, of boiling water in a state of situation where WASA is supposed to provide citizens with 100% safe drinking water. TIB report further reflects that 63% of water supplied by WASA is not safe for drinking. Contrary to TIB's researches and observations, WASA argue that their water supply at production point is 100% safe and there is a likelihood that some percentage of water that runs through pipe line to the household can be contaminated and as such it is not unwise to say that people should not boil their drinking water.

On the subjects of discussion, country's reputed microbiologists' opinion goes in line with the contention of WASA defending their stands. As the debate on the subject between WASA and TIB soars, poor users of WASA water are now caught in the jigsaw puzzle box and struggle hard to find a way out for safe drinking water. 

As stated above, natural gas is a precious energy source not available in abundance in Bangladesh although a decade ago, poor citizens of the Republic were given to understand that Bangladesh was floating on gas reserve underground and there was no difficulty in exporting natural gas to the neighbouring country at nominal price. However, that never happened in the face of vehement opposition of the succeeding government that came to power in Bangladesh in 1996.
Coming Back to discussion on TIB's research & observation that blows whistle alerting the people of Bangladesh that a substantial amount of money worth 32,000 crore taka is being wasted through burning gas for boiling water which could, otherwise, be saved had the WASA been more careful and responsible in providing citizens with 100% safe drinking water. TIB's such observation is laudable in deed but nevertheless, to some extent, appears to be as outlandish.

One should not forget that Bangladesh has been graduated only the other day from the low income level country to middle income level country. Within a decade or so with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Bangladesh will join the club of developed countries. With all its resource constraints and big population pressure, disproportionate to its size, Bangladesh has so far achieved 7.3% growth rate with per capita income of $1, 700. Therefore, Bangladesh still needs some breathing time to act in line with the developed countries in terms of providing its citizens with 100% safe drinking water, uninterrupted electricity supply, a world class education system that makes good citizens with enough civic sense: and other utility and public services of its likes.

Comparing utility and public services of Bangladesh with that of developed countries of Europe and America, where population is in optimum size and resources are in abundance, and where one can safely drink tap-water running in toilets & washrooms, is an outlandish and myopic approach altogether by demeaning the endeavour of Bangladesh to ascend to that height of development fast. Long before civilization dawned on planet earth and long before fire was invented, humans used to live on raw meat of animals in the wilderness. With the advent of civilization in gradual processes human were adapted in agriculture and grew grains like rice, wheat cereals, and lot more to live on.

Slowly graduated from the creeping darkness of cave to the light of the world, human learned to boil their foodstuff and water by burning firewood. So boiling foodstuff and water for consumptions is the tendency that is long ingrained in human psyche. As civilized human being we have inherited the tendency of boiling food stuff and water from our ancestors. Only the Himalayan Naga Sadhus are the exceptions who do not need to boil their foodstuff as, mostly, they live on fruits with wearing no sartorial and stay happy being with nature. Civilization has taught humans to boil food and water before consumption. Therefore, civilized men & women cannot take them back anymore to the stage of becoming Himalayan Naga Sadhus who do not need to burn costly energy like natural gas for boiling their foodstuff and water.
TIB has, indeed, enlightened us by giving a figure of colossal amount that is being wasted every year toward boiling water due to failure of WASA to supply 100% safe drinking water. In a state of situation where boiling of water is necessary for safety of public health, can it be regarded as waste? If it is so, then can we also consider the energy that is burnt every day, every month, and every year for boiling and cooking foodstuff is also waste?

 Have any research institutes ever calculated and figured out how much energy is burnt, cost wise, every year in Bangladesh for other unproductive purposes which could be, otherwise, saved by resorting to alternative means, side by side, with the cost incurred in boiling drinking water, which has been identified as waste in the given circumstances.

As a global whistleblower TI and particularly TIB often publish reports on corruptions and many other sensational issues, based on their research work following some methodology, which attracts public attention through print and electronic media. Most of their reports are often summarily rejected by aggrieved government agencies and bodies for being 'lacking credible evidence' in support of reports. Therefore, without formulating reports simply based on public perception, TIB should come up with credible evidence with focusing on possible solution to problems and corruptions that they identify by their hard works other than simply putting forward a report based on public perception not adequately based on credible evidence and thus creating a gimmick for public outcry.

It is very easy to find follies and loop holes in others' work but it is not that easy to execute works, in full proof, in the given situation with hundreds of constraints and limitations. Therefore, side by side with saying a big no to corruption, inefficiency and miss-governance of all & sundry involved in government business, it is also suggested that TIB should not always remain busy in creating gimmick and stunt by furnishing reports pertaining to corruption and miss-governance without all proof credible evidence and suggestions towards possible solution. Meanwhile, poor users of WASA water should remain content by boiling their drinking water at the cost of gas bills that never go free for them. 

The writer is a former civil servant





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