HYDERABAD, Jan 27: Sindh Irrigation Secretary Ashfaq Memon has directed officials at the Sukkur Barrage to release 10,000 cusecs of water downstream to kill any contamination effects of water.

The director-general of the Hyderabad Development Authority, Mr Tahir Ahmed, told this correspondent on Thursday that the Indus water was being tested after three hours. "There is no need to be panicky as water being supplied to people of Hyderabad is fit for consumption and meeting the WHO standards" he said.

Mr Ahmed claimed conductivity in water was recorded at 550ms/cm against maximum affordable limit of 1250ms/cm. He said chlorides were recorded at 70mg/l against 250mg/l and hardness was noted at 60mg/l against 350mg/l and ph value was noted at 7.80 against 8.50 of maximum value.

He claimed that the last year's situation was entirely different because there was no storage of water in ditches by the HDA. He said at present there was 7,000 cusecs of water available at the Kotri upstream for the last one week.

The chief engineer of the Kotri Barrage, Mr Manzoor Shaikh, said there was no release of water from the Manchhar Lake into the Indus River so the question of water contamination did not arise.

He said Mr Memon had directed the Sukkur Barrage authorities to release 10,000 cusecs of water for Kotri so that effects of contamination, if any, could be killed.

Mr Sheikh said average discharge from the Sukkur Barrage during January remained 8,000 cusecs and inflow at the Kotri Barrage was 7,000 cusecs, showing no loss of water between the two barrages.