SIALKOT, June 10: Sialkot city is also among the areas considered vulnerable to outbreak of water-borne diseases like gastroenteritis as the Public Health department has declared the TMA water supply to its 12 urban union councils out of total 16 as contaminate and unhygienic.

Housing and Public Health Engineering SDO Rana Ibrar Hussain told journalists on Saturday that according to the department’s findings the water being supplied by Sialkot TMA to at least 12 city UCs was unhygienic and contaminated.

He said the department had collected water samples from all 16 UCs of the city and sent theses to Lahore laboratories for chemical examination. The results showed the water being consumed by the residents of the said UCs was highly contaminated, he said, and added the people in these areas had been warned against drinking tap water.

The affected union councils are: Mianapura, Model Town, Muzaffarpura, Imam Sahib, Karimpura, Hajipura, Ghouspura, Naikapura, Muhammadpura, Shahabpura, Roras Road, Gulshan Town, Pakka Garha, Muhallah Chah Tarkhaana and Muhallah Kashmiriyaan.

Mr Hussain said use of contaminated water was already causing various water-borne ailments among the residents, especially children and women, of theses areas, and its prolonged use might result in outbreak of such diseases in these thickly-populated localities if preventive and remedial measures were not taken immediately.

He said the underground water and sewage pipes in the city had become rusty over the years, and at many points they had been broken which was resulting in mixing of filth in tap water.

The department had also asked the TMA’s officials concerned to immediately change the underground damaged pipes, he said.

The SDO said 600-feet deep water boring system was badly needed for ensuring the provision of clean potable drinking water to the city as most of the turbines were pumping out water from only 300 to 350-feet depth which was not fit for human consumption.