HYDERABAD, May 27: A World Health Organization team, which is conducting a survey and collecting facts about the supply of contaminated water in Hyderabad, took samples from the Indus river at Kotri, Jamshoro, Hussainabad, Paretabad , Latifabad-10 and 12 and other places on Wednesday and Thursday.

The team is headed by Dr Faizullah Kakar and includes Dr Ghulam Nabi Kazi, WHO's representative in Sindh, Dr Jaleel Kamran, officer incharge, epidemics investigation cell, National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad and Dr Khadim Lakhair, programme manager, basic development needs, Sindh.

The team also visited the water treatment plant of Wasa on Wednesday. A member of the team told Dawn that the team was not satisfied with the working of the plant and chlorinator had been out of order for about 10 months.

He said that an inspection of the record revealed that the incharge assistant engineer had informed the competent authority in writing about the chlorinator but nothing was done to make it operational.

He said that the team was not supposed to make its findings public and added that the report would be given final touches in Karachi and Islamabad. He said that the findings of the team would be submitted to the prime minister.

When contacted on telephone, the managing director of WASA Kafeel Ahmed said that the agency was using bleaching power and other chemicals to purify the water that was supplied to consumers.

Later, in a written statement, he said that fresh water released from the Sukkur barrage had reached upstream of the Kotri Barrage and added that the agency had flushed out contaminated water from its lagoons, removing the effects of toxic water.

The water, he said, was now fit for drinking. He said that the agency was using alum and bleaching powder for removing turbidity and bacteria regularly for providing potable water to the city.

Meanwhile, the quality of water in the Indus river at upstream of the Kotri barrage had further improved. The water level was recorded at 5,567 cusecs at 12 noon on Thursday.

A Kotri barrage spokesman said that 20,000 cusecs water released from the Sukkur barrage three days back that would take another four days to reach the Kotri barrage, adding that it normally took one week for the water to reach the barrage.

In a related development, EDO health Hyderabad Agha Tariq, said in a statement that 2,155 people suffering from stomach diseases caused by the contaminated water had been admitted to hospitals in Hyderabad, Jamshoro and Kotri, out of whom eight patients had died.

He said that 925 patients were admitted to the Liaquat University Hospital, Hyderabad and Jamshoro, 480 to the Shah Bhittai hospital, Latifabad, 362 to the Sindh government hospital, Paretabad, 86 to the Sindh government hospital, Qasimabad, 135 to the Taluka hospital, Kotri, and 167 to the CDF hospital, Hyderabad.

He said that three patients had died in the Liaquat University Hospital, four in the Shah Bhittai hospital and one in the taluka hospital, Kotri. He said that emergency counters had been set up in the casualty department and doctors and paramedical staff were working round the clock. He said that a large quantity of medicines had been made available at the hospitals.