KARACHI, Sept 19: Residents of Lyari Town on Monday complained of contaminated water being supplied to their localities and apprehended spread of gastroenteritis in the town. They warned that a situation similar to that in Landhi, where 12 people had lost their lives owing to the disease, could emerge if remedial measures were not taken immediately.

A resident of Lyari, Manzoor Ahmed, pointed out that for the last four/five days, certain areas of Lyari Town were receiving contaminated water and people representing various localities had lodged a complaint with the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) in this regard. He said that the duty officer attending the KWSB Helpline 919, Mr Sohail, had registered the complaint. Many organizations operating in Lyari had also informed the officials concerned about the situation, he added.

A local welfare organization has identified some of the affected areas as Daryabad, Fida Hussain Sheikha Road, Nawabad, Kalri, Liaquat Colony, Bilal Mosque Road and the lane around Sima Apartments.

Ghulam Murtaza Memon of the Young Lyari Welfare Centre (YLWC) said that the tap water reaching the localities appeared contaminated with sewerage.

When contacted by the PPI, TMO of Lyari Afaque Ahmed denied having received any complaints from the specified areas, and insisted that the water being supplied to the whole town was of good quality.

He, however, acknowledged that complaints of water shortage had been lodged by the people of some areas, adding that their problem was resolved accordingly.

The KWSB also denied that there were any complaints of water contamination in any area of the city except Landhi where, according to a spokesman of the Board, soiled pipelines are being replaced with new ones following outbreak of gastroenteritis there.

“The KWSB conducts weekly tests to monitor quality of water supplied to different areas of the city. No pollution has been detected in the main lines.”

The spokesman further stated that contamination was caused by the use of suction pumps by consumers who would install illegal connections.

The YLWC maintains that the problem in recent weeks was created by choked drains and after rains, the rainwater and sewage made their way into the water lines.—PPI