Many residents of East Sholoshohar are to depend on unusable pond water for household work as the Water and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) is unable to supply optimum water for them in the ward. Scarcity of drinking water has posed a serious health hazard to around 25,000 lower income people of the Ward-6 under Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) near Bohoddarhat Intersection. Sources said people living in Baraipara, Ghasiapara, Omar Ali Matabbar Moholla and Purbapara under the ward have no other options but to using the blackish and brownish dirty water of 10 ponds as the supply of Wasa water is hardly available there. The women wash utensils and even vegetables and rice for cooking as well as the people take bath in the ponds, some of them are covered with water hyacinth turning into perfect breeding centres for mosquitoes. The low-income people of 150 colonies on some 3km patch of land depend on the ponds in the CCC ward. Locals said they collect Wasa water from hydrant standing in long queues only for drinking. "The water provided by Wasa can only meet our demand for drinking water,' said Mohammad Sultan Mian, a shopkeeper at Baraipara. Sultan said they suffer from different types of water-borne diseases frequently as they are bound to use the dirty water from the ponds. Shah Alam, a resident of Ghasiapara, said the shallow tube-wells were of no use to them due to fall in ground water level. Besides, he said they cannot afford to set up a deep tube-well. He said the pond water has also become stinky as the filthy water from nearby overflowing drains finds way to the pond during rain. He said they have informed the local ward commissioner about their miseries repeatedly in vain. Baraipara Moholla (South) Unnayan Committee General Secretary Amir Uddin said a few house owners collect Wasa water for household use from the main supply line with the help of electric motors. He said the tenants are bound to collect water from the dirty ponds for fulfilling daily demands. Local Ward Commissioner Dost Mohammad said he himself uses the pond and tube-well water and has nothing to do with the problem due to the scarcity of Wasa water in his ward. Dost Mohammad, who is rather quite indifferent to his responsibility about the problem, said none of the residents ever complained him in this regard. Chittagong Wasa Superintendent Engineer (Treatment and Production Circle) Mohammad Abdul Karim Chowdhury said they have not received any complaint from Ward No-6 in this regard. Dr Mezbah Uddin Ahmed of a state-run cement factory said use of dirty water might cause the residents fall victim to different skin diseases and waterborne diseases like typhoid and jaundice. Dr Monwarul Haque Shamim of Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) said the pond covered with water hyacinth also has turned into breeding centre of mosquitoes to spread malaria among the local residents. He said alongside Wasa, CCC also can play an important role in setting up deep-tube wells in those areas. Benevolent people or welfare organisations can be engaged in such initiatives, he added. Besides, measures can be taken to clean the ponds and maintain them raising the banks, he said.