SUKKUR, Jan 19: Owing to shortage of drinking water and non-availability of medicines in Sui and adjoining areas, four children died of gastroenteritis in the Sui hospital on Wednesday, while 16 others were admitted to the hospitals.

The children who died of the disease were Alam, Alif Din, Amani and Azizullah. Medical superintendent of the Sui hospital, Mohammad Usman, told journalists that the main reason for the increasing cases of gastroenteritis was consumption of saline underground water, because of which, more than 40 people, mainly children, were being referred to the hospital everyday.

There were 12 doctors in the hospital, out of whom, only five were performing their duties and the rest were on leave, he said, adding that there was an acute shortage of medicine in the hospital since the past 10 days. He had demanded Rs1 million from PPL authorities for purchase of medicines, he concluded.

FIELD DAY: A field day was organized for farmers in Nasirabad near the bus terminal on the Shikarpur Road here on Wednesday. According to a press statement, the field day was organized by the Indus River Dolphin Conservation Project (IRDCP) in collaboration with the district agriculture extension department and the Sindh Rural Support Organization.