Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday (July 13, 2023) asked the authorities concerned to introduce water purification and sewage system in all divisional cities, districts, upazilas and union level in phases.

“For this you have to formulate a master plan. And preparing the same model, if we can select the places and start the construction work… we will be able to do that,” she said.

The prime minister said this while formally launching the operation of the Dasherkandi Sewage Treatment Plant, first of its kind in the country, at a function at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre.

At the same function, she also laid theh foundation stone of the reconstruction and expansion of the Pagla Sewage Treatment Plant in support with the World Bank (WB) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), having capacity of treating 200 million metric tons of sewage.

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Hasina said that the government has already announced the My Village, My City where no village will be lag behind, every village will get urban like facilities.

She mentioned that already 98 percent people of the country have came under sanitation.

“We have already started to provide drinking water, and to make that initiative sustainable we have to implement it through a well planned planning,” she said.

She asked the authorities to take quick steps in this regard.

Hasina also asked the people to maintain austerity in using water and electricity.

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"Don't use water and electricity unnecessarily, please exercise austrity in using those. You will also be benefitted from it, as the bill of those will be fewer," she said.

The prime minister said that Dhaka Wasa is a service oriented commercial entity.

“For enhancing civic services and implementing development programmes and building skilled management, I am asking Dhaka Wasa to be more active,” she said.

Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Md Tazul Islam, Local Government Division Secretary Muhammad Ibrahim, Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen and Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA) Managing Director (MD) Taqsem A Khan spoke at the function.

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