HYDERABAD, June 7: Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Emad Siddiqui has said that people of the district are deprived of basic amenities despite the fact that they pay huge amounts in taxes to the government.

Speaking at a seminar on contaminated water at the chamber's secretariat here on Sunday, he pointed out that tax payers of Hyderabad had paid Rs17.5 billion to the federal government last year and would pay Rs19.5 billion this year.

He said that water was the basic need of people but due to inefficiency of officials concerned, poisonous water was being supplied to residents of Hyderabad. Mr Siddiqui regretted that the Manchhar Lake, on which 50,000 families were dependent, had been destroyed.

He called for changing the design of the Right Bank Outfall Drain. He demanded that the greater sewerage scheme, prepared by the Hyderabad Development Authority, should be implemented. He said that according to the scheme, sewage had to be stored near the Zeal Pak Factory and used for agriculture after recycling.

Basic Rights coordinator Abdul Jabbar Rehmani said that officials responsible for supplying poisonous water to people should be awarded punishment.

Dr Safia Jilani, in her paper on environmental pollution, said that contaminated water and use of pesticides on crops led to pollution. The others who spoke on the occasion included Dr Irfan, Prof Mustafa Mastoi, Nizamul Haider and Israr Rehmani.