HYDERABAD, May 19: The City Taluka Council in a unanimously- adopted resolution here on Wednesday demanded a high-level inquiry into contamination of water of the Indus River.

The resolution, tabled jointly by Usman Abbasi and Iqbal Kaimkhani, also demanded removal of the Sindh minister for irrigation, secretary for irrigation, managing director, Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority, and the managing director, Water and Sanitation Agency.

The session had specially been requisitioned to discuss the situation arising out of the supply of contaminated water to people which spread diseases in the area. The council said that the inquiry should be conducted by a high court judge.

Initiating the debate, Mr Abbasi said that it was responsibility of the district government to hold accountable officials responsible for supply of contaminated water to the city which caused different diseases.

Abdul Waheed Qureshi said that highly-polluted water of the Manchar Lake was being supplied to the city. He claimed that not a single family was safe and emergency had been declared in hospitals. He criticized the Sindh government for remaining silent on the issue.

Illahi Bux Shaikh and Ghaffar Shah called for a protest on the issue under the leadership of City Taluka Nazim Moinuddin Shaikh. They said that Dadu, Thatta and other parts of Sindh had also been affected by the supply of contaminated water. They said that thousands of people had been infected with gastroenteritis.

Calling upon the Sindh government to take notice of the matter, Ali Akbar Vighio and Yaqoob Bhatti said that the chief minister would have no right to occupy the office if he failed to address the situation.

Rana Siddiqui demanded that the Sindh governor and the chief minister should take notice of the incompetence of the irrigation department. Iqbal Kaimkhani said that Wasa could not be held responsible for the situation as it was only supposed to supply water being received from upstream Kotri.

He alleged that the irrigation department was least concerned about the plight of people, although it got millions of rupees in aid from donor agencies. Anwar Chundrigar demanded that compensation should be paid to affected people.