BNP on Wednesday alleged that the government is trying to increase the water tariff of Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) again to "mount public sufferings".

“A special meeting of the Wasa board on Monday proposed a 40 per cent increase in water prices, which will cause a great distress to common people," said BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.

Speaking at a press conference at BNP’s Nayapaltan central office, he said the government has taken this move to make its pocket heavier by "snatching public money".

The BNP leader alleged that the government is making all arrangements to "kill" people without rice and water by throwing the country into poverty, corruption and acute instability.

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“We strongly condemn the Wasa’s move to raise water prices, and urge them to immediately move away from such an inhumane proposal,” Rizvi said.

Meanwhile, Dhaka Wasa managing director Taksim A Khan on Wednesday said they want to increase the prices of water by at least 20 percent to reduce the government subsidy.

On May 24, last year, the Dhaka Wasa raised water tariff by five per cent witg effect from July 1, 2021. Dhaka Wasa increased the water tariff 14 times in the last 13 years since Awami League came to power.

The current tariff for each unit of water (1,000 litres) is Tk 15.18 for residential use against the production cost of Tk 25.

Rizvi slammed Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen and Home Minister Asaduzzaman for their remarks denying the incidents of enforced disappearance in the country.

“The Foreign Minister at a programme on February 5 said a UN organisation gave them a list of missing people and they later found many of them drowned in the Mediterranean Sea. A day later, the Home Minister said our law enforcement agencies aren’t  involved in any incidents of enforced disappearance. Whenever anyone goes missing, they return after some days,” the BNP leader said.

Rizvi said the two ministers’ remarks on the victims of enforced disappearance are ridiculous, indecent and cruel. “These comments only exposed their perverted mentality.”

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He said it is now proved globally that the current ‘illegitimate’ regime has restored to enforced disappearance, murder, extrajudicial killings, and repressive acts to suppress the opposition forces.

“So, the ministers of the government are making all these irrational, unguarded and hateful statements in fear of losing power,” Rizvi observed.