The World Bank has approved a loan of $100 million to increase access to improved water supply and sanitation system in 30 municipalities in Bangladesh as well as to help build their capacity for delivering water and sanitation services.

Water Supply and Sewerage Authority must shoulder the responsibility for supplying polluted water to city dwellers, a platform of people living in the capital’s Jurain, Shyampur and Kadamtali areas said yesterday at a mass hearing.

It is of grave concern that a Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) survey has found 55 percent of urban households across the country use water contaminated by E.coli, a dangerous bacteria that causes serious waterborne diseases.