DADU, July 18: Four villagers of Kachho area of the district, including two minor girls, died of gastroenteritis on Thursday as the disease has spread in several villages of the hilly area.

According to reports, due to the use of unclean water for drinking purpose, gastroenteritis has spread in Wahi Pandhi, Fazal Jamali, Chhinni, Kamal Khan Shahani, Rawat Khan Leghari, Sori, Tore, Shah Hasan, Heero Khan, Essa Khan Shahani, Hamzo Khan Shahani, Allahdad Shahani, Gul Shahani, Tando Raheem, Ghulam Mohammad and other villages located in the western part of Dadu district.

Over 100 patients from these villages are admitted to different private and government hospitals in Johi, Sehwan, Bhan Saeedabad and Khudabad while several other poor patients are waiting for medical relief in their villages.

Among them four patients died in their houses on Thursday. They were identified as Jannat, 9, daughter of Mohammad Yousuf Lashari, resident of Tando Raheem; Hameeda, 13, daughter of Gul Mohammad Shahani, resident of Gul Shahani village; Kaloo Khan, 22, son of Mohammad Hassan Khaskheli, resident of Tando Raheem; and Kalan, 40, son of Faqir Mohammad Shahani, resident of Hamzo Shahani village.

Nazim, Chhinni union council, Ghulam Ali Shahani, told this scribe that 10 persons had recently died of gastroenteritis, TB and other diseases in different parts of Kachho area.

He said that seven villages of Chhinni and Tando Raheem union councils were worst affected by gastroenteritis.

A social worker, Abbas Ali, said that he requested the EDO, health, Dadu, to send medical teams to the affected villages but received no positive response from him.

EDO: When contacted, EDO, health, Dadu, Dr Sharafuddin Baloch, said that he had sent medical teams to several villages of Kachho area.