HYDERABAD, May 20: Around 210 patients suffering from stomach diseases were admitted to the Civil Hospital's medicine and paediatrics wards on Thursday. A state of emergency has been declared by the hospital administration and a counter for patients has been established in the casualty ward.

Extra beds have also been provided. Some 12 victims of gastroenteritis were admitted to the Bhittai hospital. There was a great demand for potable water in the city and suppliers of filtered water are charging exorbitant prices.

Meanwhile, the Kotri barrage chief engineer told a group of newsmen in his office on Thursday that there was no other option except to release poisonous water in the River Indus.

He said that it was taken as a precautionary measure because the monsoon season was quite close and had it started it would have resulted in damages to regulators of the Aral Wah, causing high flow of the Manchhar lake water in the River Indus.

He said that if this had happened even then the irrigation officials would have been blamed. He said that it had happened every year and the river water had mixed with the lake's water.