Dhaka, March 28 -- Even after three years since its construction at a cost of Tk 33.71 billion, more than 41 per cent of the total capacity of the Dasherkandi Sewage Treatment Plant - Bangladesh's first and one of the largest in South Asia and East Asia - remains underutilised on average.

The failure of the Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (DWASA) to develop sewerage lines has resulted in the plant processing a maximum of only 317.4 million litres per day (MLD) of waste, far below its 500 MLD capacity.

The plant processes as little as 212.66 MLD in certain months, leaving over 57 per cent of its capacity unutilised, according to an inspection report by the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) under the Minis...