HYDERABAD, June 1: A bench of the Sindh High Court, Hyderabad circuit, on Tuesday issued notices to the irrigation secretary, health secretary, Kotri Barrage chief engineer , Dadu irrigation executive engineer and the Wasa managing director on a petition.

Advocate Mohammad Ishaq Qureshi had filed the petition, demanding a judicial inquiry against the respondents and seeking release of fresh water at Kotri Barrage upstream.

The Sindh additional advocate general, Masood A. Noorani, was also put on notice. The petitioner said that the respondents had been supplying contaminated water to people of Hyderabad for 18 days which had resulted in deaths of children and hospitalization of 5,000 people.

He regretted that the officials had not accepted their failure and were blaming each other for the negligence leading to supply of contaminated water to people. He said that the secretary for irrigation was squarely responsible for the casualties which were increasing with the passage of each day.

The petitioner accused the respondents of violating fundamental rights of citizens, guaranteed in the Constitution. He observed that neither any notice was given nor any announcement was made before supply of contaminated water.

He prayed the court to order a judicial inquiry into the matter to fix responsibility on the officials and direct the respondents to supply fresh water to Hyderabad.

WOMAN KILLED: A woman, Gulzar, wife of Abdul Nabi, was killed by her husband in Sehrish Nagar area of the city on some domestic affair here the other day.