SUKKUR, Jan 13: Sindh Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F Ameer Maulana Asad Thanvi has expressed concern over the acute water shortage and unhygienic conditions in the city.

In a statement issued here on Monday, he said the residents were longing for water despite Sukkur was situated on the bank of the Indus River. He regretted that even mosques were without water.

He said the taluka council should have made arrangements for sucking water from the Rohri side of the river which would have minimized the sufferings of the people.

He said due to the inadequate sewerage, diseases were spreading in the area and the supply of polluted water was adding to the miseries of the residents.

Maulana Thanvi demanded construction of an overhead bridge at the New Pind railway crossing and a ban on entry of trucks on the Bunder Road in daytime.

Deploring the holding of dance competitions in local schools, he said such programmes could not be tolerated in an Islamic country. Meanwhile, Sukkur Small Traders Union president Haroon Memon also condemned the water shortage in Sukkur.

In a statement issued here, he said the taluka council should have made alternate arrangements as silt clearance was done every year. He alleged that the city was facing water shortage due to the mismanagement of the taluka council.

He said influential people were getting water through tankers but the poor were without water. Mr Memon said the taluka municipal council had failed to perform its duty as heaps of garbage could be seen everywhere and sewage had accumulated on roads. He warned that traders and area residents would hold protest demonstrations if municipal authorities did not ensure immediate water supply.

GIRL DIES: Eight-year-old Arifa, a resident of Thul who received burnt injuries when a fire broke out in her kitchen two days back, died in a Karachi hospital on Monday. Sui gas officials confirmed that gas leakage had led to the fire in the kitchen.