MPCB"s new consent conditions

• Dow to issue an undertaking that it would not use any chemicals banned by the Indian government

• Install three ambient air quality monitoring stations

The groundwater reserves are depleting at an alarming rate in Punjab besides a serious decline in the quality of water at many places due to overuse of the available resources, says a study. Out of a total of 137 blocks covered under the study, only 25 have been found safe with 103 of them being overexploited, five being critical and four in a semi-critical state, says a study conducted by the Water Resources and Environment Directorate, Punjab Irrigation Department.

Water crisis has turned acute in the Rajshahi city due to frequent power outages and sharp decline in the groundwater level, causing immense sufferings to the city residents. The Rahjshahi City Corporation is now producing only 106 lakh gallons of water against the demand for 226 lakh gallons, according to corporation sources. Due to frequent load shedding and voltage fluctuation, the corporation cannot operate all its 46 pumps at a time to lift water for supply in the city areas.

Emission of natural gas through thousands of holes at Shyampur and Anandapur villages, Loiska Beel and Titas riverbed from Bakail and Shuhilpur areas near Brahmanbaria Titas Gas Field is posing threat to people and environment. A number of small holes that emerged three years ago have now expanded into big ones and the problem is gradually affecting new areas. As a remedy for the situation, authorities in early February this year completed killing of dilapidated well No 3 of Brahmanbaria Titas Gas Field but emission of gas through holes in the nearby areas has continued.

The groundwater level in Dhaka is dipping because of a massive extraction of water from underground, according to a recent study. Experts said that the groundwater level was declining by up to three metres every year, posing a threat of landslide. According to a report,

Water scarcity is the albatross around our collective neck

Minister for Public Health Engineering Choudhary Chandrabhan Singh has instructed the officers concerned to ensure availability of spare parts required for repair of hand pumps to proper drinking water supply during the summer season. He directed that the hand pump technicians should be assigned works with spare parts and vehicles. The Minister has also asked the Chief Engineers, Superintending Engineers and Executive Engineers to ensure storage of necessary material for repair of hand pumps to meet any emergency situation.