HYDERABAD: Mithi Senior Civil Judge Mian Fayyaz Rabbani on Monday issued a show-cause notice to the district health officer (DHO) of Tharparkar for not collecting samples of drinking water supplied in Mithi taluka.

In his notice, Mr Fayyaz, who is relief inspecting judge in Tharparkar, said he had directed the DHO on Feb 3 to collect samples of water from different areas in Mithi taluka and send them to government and private laboratories for analysis to see it if water was fit for consumption. Such directive was issued to avoid any unpleasant incident or outbreak of waterborne diseases.

But, he said, after the lapse of one month from the date of issuance of this directive, the DHO did not collect samples and failed to comply with the order, which amounted to contempt of court.

The judge directed him (DHO) to submit his reply to the notice within two days, explaining as to why he should not be prosecuted for committing contempt of court orders because supply of contaminated water supply was a matter of grave concern.

The judge had visited the reverse osmosis plant (RO) of Mithi on an application submitted by some advocates of the District Bar Association Mithi, led by Mohan Lal. The applicants had said that people were complaining of supply of brackish water from the RO plant.

Published in Dawn, March 5th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play