WASA MD Abdus Salam resigns

Abdus Salam Bepari, Managing Director of Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority Dhaka WASA, has resigned from his post.

Officials confirmed on Sunday that he submitted his resignation letter to the Secretary of the Local Government Division at the Ministry of Local Government earlier in the afternoon. 

And it was subsequently accepted, according to a ministry source.

Salam was appointed as Dhaka WASA’s managing director during the final phase of the interim government in what critics described as a controversial process. 

Prior to his appointment, he served as the organization’s additional chief engineer. Allegations of corruption had surfaced against him during his tenure in various roles.

On March 3, a media investigation reported that Salam’s wife owned a house in Canada’s so-called Begum Para, a neighborhood often associated in public discourse with properties owned by wealthy Bangladeshis abroad. 

Following publication of the report, Salam was reportedly barred from attending official government events. He did not attend a Dhaka WASA event where Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was present.

Dhaka WASA Public Information Officer Imrul Hasan told reporters by phone in the afternoon that he had learned of Salam’s resignation shortly before speaking.

Meanwhile, the Criminal Investigation Department CID of Bangladesh Police has confirmed that it has launched an inquiry into allegations of money laundering against Salam.

Abdus Salam joined Dhaka WASA in 1991 as an assistant engineer. According to agency sources, he received approximately 2.5 crore taka in salary and allowances over the course of his career.