Hundreds of people staged protests in the Bangladeshi capital on Wednesday against a shortage of drinking water, witnesses said, defying a ban on such demonstrations. A falling water table and lack of power to run water pumps has led to a serious shortfall of drinking water in Dhaka, a city of 11 million, officials said. “How can we pump enough water while there is no electricity to run the pumps,” said an official with the Dhaka water and sewerage authority. “Many pumps remain shut or cannot operate up to their capacities because of shortage of power,” said the official who asked not to be identified. Hundreds of residents, carrying empty water cans, gathered in the streets demanding an end to the water and power shortages that have in the past sparked violent protests. Authorities have asked the army to help supervise the distribution of water in the city. Bangladesh is governed by an army-backed interim administration that has under a state of emergency imposed last year banned all public protests. “The situation is turning from bad to worse every day, we stand in long queues for hours for water,” said rickshaw-puller Mohammad Salam outside a roadside water pump. __
