SIALKOT, June 9: Waterborne diseases (WBD) are spreading due to the use of the dirty water being supplied by the Sialkot Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA).

Official sources in health department confirmed that the number of patients with WBDs, including hepatitis, gastroenteritis and cholera, was rising and the situation has become ‘alarming’.

The health, environment and public health engineering departments have already declared water being supplied by the TMA unfit for human consumption.

The environment department officials told newsmen the other day that the department recently collected samples from all 33 tubewells supplying water in the city and sent them to Lahore for test. They were declared unfit for human consumption, they added.

Health officials confirmed the result of the water tests. They said the major cause of water contamination was rusted pipelines. These pipelines have been broken and sewerage water mixed with the clean water at many points.

They suggested to the TMA to install water filtration plants to overcome the problem.

TMA officials said Rs35 million were required to change the rusting and damaged pipelines.

When contacted, district nazim Akmal Cheema said the public health engineering department would soon launch a programme to ensure clean drinking water to the people of the city.