Besides, the worsening power supply situation has made Wasa to seek police protection of their 420 groundwater-lifting installations and over 1,250 pump operators from growing public wrath, official sources said.

"Every day power supply remains disrupted for 9-10 hours in most of the city areas. We have 420 pump stations to draw groundwater for piped supply. Now, we have to operate diesel-run generators for at least 4-5 hours a day in most of these pump stations to lift water," said an executive engineer, who is in charge of one of the six Wasa zones.

"We require 22 litres of diesel per hour to operate a generator. It is very expensive for us as we are not supposed to bear fat diesel bills every day. But shortage of power supply and low voltage have pushed us into such a situation," he explained, seeking anonymity.

"We're already paying up to Tk 1.5 lakh as electricity bill per month against each of our pump stations, and now we've to bear huge additional expenses for diesel."

When contacted, Wasa Managing Director Kazi Ali Azam said, "We've got 267 generators installed at the pump stations. Besides, we've 30 mobile generators. And this summer, when groundwater table has declined further and aquifer is not being recharged as there has been almost no rainfall for long, we're facing serious difficulties in meeting the city's water requirement."

Meanwhile, police have already been deployed at all the power sub-stations in the city to prevent attacks by agitated people at the stations in view of continued erratic power supply.

Now, Wasa has also sought similar police protection for its pump stations.

"Three of our pump operators were picked up by people agitating over water scarcity, and were released after being utterly humiliated. In such a situation, we have written to all police stations in the city asking for protection of Wasa infrastructure and employees," said a top Wasa official.

Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Lalbagh Police Station Abdul Matin admitted receipt of one such letter from Wasa on March 28. " We've already instructed our patrol teams to keep more vigil on pump stations," he said yesterday.

He however said the city's police stations do not have enough manpower to keep round-the-clock vigil on all pump stations. Extra police are needed for this.

Water crisis has reached such a level that different city areas are now fighting for realising their respective shares of Wasa water by any means. On Friday night, residents of DCC Ward- 27 attempted to draw water from Wasa pipelines in Ward-28, creating tension in the areas. Things came under control only after intervention from local elders.

Ali Azam pleaded for public understanding that the current water crisis is due to erratic power supply, and hoped members of the civil society would play an active role in this regard.

He hinted at a long-term Wasa plan to use more surface water for its supply than depending on the falling groundwater table.