Civil society organizations submit a memorandum to the advisor demanding the cancellation of the contract with Ctg WASA MD

Leaders of several civil society organisations under the banner of ‘Chattogram Anti-Discrimination Citizens’ Society’ submitted a memorandum to AF Hasan Arif, Advisor to the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development, Cooperatives and Ministry of Lands, demanding the cancellation of the contract of Chattogram WASA Managing Director AKM Fazlullah.

They also called for a thorough investigation into alleged corruption and irregularities that occurred during his time in office and for a travel ban to be imposed on him to prevent him from leaving the country.

The memorandum was submitted yesterday (September 15) at the Chattogram Circuit House by women’s movement leader Jannatul Ferdous and youth organizer and president of CAB Youth Group Chattogram Abu Hanif Noman.

The memorandum accused Fazlullah of involvement in various irregularities and criticized the ongoing corruption investigation at WASA, which falls under his supervision.

“It is absurd to conduct an investigation while the accused remains in power. No one would dare to present evidence of corruption while he is in power. He must be removed from office so that a proper investigation can be conducted,” the memorandum states.

The organisations also pointed out that the government had earlier decided to cancel all contractual appointments made during the Awami League era. However, Fazlullah served on a contractual basis for 16 years, during which WASA was rife with corruption.

“He has increased water rates by more than 14 times, burdening the people of Chattogram, yet a third of the city still does not have access to clean water,” the memorandum reads.

They further alleged that Fazlullah had awarded a contract for a major sewage project to his daughter’s company and that many of his associates involved in the irregularities had already left the country.

Earlier on September 1, around 20-30 people staged an occupation of the WASA director’s office in Chattogram, demanding his resignation.

Protesters under the banner of the Anti-Discrimination Citizens’ Society gave Fazlullah a 24-hour ultimatum to resign. However, Fazlullah remained adamant, stating, “I have been appointed by the government and I will not resign unless the government orders me to do so.”

Because he failed to resign by the deadline, the group declared him “unwanted” at the September 3 WASA conference and vowed to hold ongoing protests until he resigned.

WASA office workers tried to remove the protesters, but the situation was later brought under control by the army. Despite this, the group vowed to continue its movement until Fazlullah resigned.

On September 7, the Director General of the Local Government Department, Md Mahmudul Hasan, conducted an inspection in response to media reports regarding accusations against the Managing Director of Chattogram WASA.