Drought: Bangladesh is one of the wettest countries on Earth, but it is suffering increasingly from drought, largely caused by poor drainage. This is expected to get worse with climate change. Pressud / Care

By Staff Writers
Dhaka, Bangladesh (UPI) Apr 21, 2010 Soldiers are guarding water pumps in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, as the city of 7 million faces severe water shortages. While water shortages are typical during the April-May dry season, it has been especially bad this year, getting a start in March with unusually high temperatures. The city needs 581 million gallons of water a day but can only produce 502 million, said the country’s national Water Supply and Sewerage Authority. “The army will work in coordination with the water authority to properly manage water distribution in the city,” Golam Mostafa, chairman of the Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority, told IRIN, the U.N. news agency. For residents, that means each person is allowed to fill one jug, approximately 1 gallon, under armed guard. Family members typically wait on line together to multiply the ration. One woman told the Express about a 3-hour wait to fill her jug. Although Dhaka has 546 water pumps designed to supply water, more than half aren’t equipped with back-up generators, so they don’t function during the frequent power outages in the capital, exaggerating the effects of the dry spell. The country’s daily electricity output totals approximately 3,800 megawatts against a demand of 6,000 megawatts, leaving a supply crunch of 2,200 megawatts. …

Troops guard water pumps in Bangladesh