People in almost all the villages under Dakope upazila in Khulna are suffering acute crisis of drinking water in the current summer. Water of all the tube wells excepting a few in the upazila are not safe for drinking as it is contaminated with arsenic and contains high salinity, local people said. Besides, most of the pond sand filters (PSF) installed by the Department of Public Health Engineering remain inoperative, worsening the situation, they said. There are a total of 309 PSFs in different villages under the upazila and more than 100 of them has remained out of order for long, according to DPHE sources. Sangeeta Shil, a Class-VIII student at Kalinagar GC Memorial High School under Kamarkhola union, said she comes to the school with a pot everyday to collect water from the PSF near the school and carry it home after school hours.