Govt plans Tk 25,000cr project to ensure safe water nationwide

The government is planning an integrated project worth around Tk 25,000 crore to ensure access to safe drinking water for people across the country, said Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Dr Abdul Moin Khan on Thursday.

He made the disclosure while speaking to reporters after a meeting with a UNICEF delegation at the Secretariat.

“We discussed a very important issue with UNICEF today—how to provide safe water to the 180 million people of Bangladesh,” the minister said, stressing that while water is essential for life, contaminated water can also become a cause of death.

The meeting focused on the challenges of ensuring safe drinking water nationwide and possible cooperation with the United Nations to address them, he said.

Moin Khan also highlighted growing water-related challenges caused by the depletion of rivers and upstream water withdrawals.

“Bangladesh has abundant water in its rivers, but the rivers are drying up,” he said, adding that water is being diverted upstream, contributing to desertification-like conditions in northern districts.

''The reduced river flow is also affecting the country’s southern region. As less freshwater reaches the Bay of Bengal, seawater salinity is moving further inland, worsening the drinking-water crisis in coastal areas.''

The minister said prolonged upstream water withdrawal has contributed to a severe shortage of potable water in the southern parts of Bangladesh over the past several decades.