52 districts to get water testing labs: Minister

LRGD and Cooperatives Minister Md Tazul Islam on Friday told Parliament that the government is setting up water testing laboratories in 52 districts in order to ensure safe water supply across the country.

 “The construction of water testing laboratory buildings in 52 districts has already been completed under a project,” he said replying to a scripted question from the ruling Awami League lawmaker M Abdul Latif (Chattogram-11).

 The Minister said the Department of Public Health Engineering under the Local Government Division is implementing the project titled “Strengthening Water Quality Testing System” for expanding the water testing system to all the districts.

 Noting that the implementation of the project will complete by June 2022, he said the process to procure water laboratory technologies and chemicals has started.

 The LGRD Minister said a proposal for recruiting necessary manpower for the laboratories is now awaiting the approval of the Finance Division.

 If people drink water after testing in the laboratories that are being set up in 52 districts, the child mortality rate and water-borne diseases would come down and thus it would be possible to achieve the 6 goals of the SDGs, he said.