Hiking water prices will be an anti-people move: GM Quader

GM Quader, chairman of the Jatiya Party and deputy leader of the opposition in the parliament, has said hiking the prices of water will be an "anti-people" decision.

"If water tariffs are hiked, the suffering of the people will increase," GM Quader said in a statement issued on Thursday.

He also said the proposal of the Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) for a 20% hike in water tariffs is not acceptable in any way.

"Residents of many areas in the city are not getting enough water with their monthly water bills. Many people complained about getting dirty and stinky water supplied by Wasa," he added.

He said it would never be logical to increase the prices of water on the pretext that Dhaka Wasa is struggling to pay its operational expenses and development project loans with its own revenue.

Although it is allowed to raise the tariff by 5% a year, Dhaka Wasa on Wednesday proposed a 20% hike in water tariffs.

At present, the price of each unit (1,000 litres) of water for residential use is Tk15.18, says Wasa in its proposal, adding if the price is hiked by 20% it will stand at Tk18.25.

For commercial connections, the current price per unit of water is Tk42, which will go up to Tk50.4 after the proposed 20% hike. 

Even amid the Covid-19 epidemic, Dhaka Wasa increased the prices of water at residential and commercial levels in the last two years.

Water prices have increased 14 times in the past 13 years.