NAWABSHAH, July 23: A large number of people in this district have been suffering from water-borne disease and doctors have attributed the cause to the contaminated water being supplied from Gujra Wah.

Dr Ali Akbar Nizamani told this correspondent that more than 200 children were among those brought to the People’s Medical College Hospital, PMCH, over a certain period and as many as 50 suffered from the water-borne disease.

Some people at the hospital expressed their concern over the situation and feared that the disease might turn into an epidemic.

Residents of different localities of Nawabshah town have reported that they were receiving coloured and stinking water which seemed contaminated by sewage water.

They said that the matter had repeatedly been brought into the knowledge of the local authorities but no action had been taken to sort out the problem.

The TMO, Basheer Ahmed Butt, admitted that seepage from broken sewage lines in some areas had mixed up with the water supply conduits.

He said that the sewage lines needed replacement but the district government had not yet taken a serious notice of the problem.

He, however, said that efforts were under way to ensure supply of purified water to the people.

He said that desilting of ponds had been undertaken in phases to avoid a complete halt to water supply to the town. After completion of the desilting process, he said, potable water would become comparatively better.

Mr Butt said that the district needed a water purification plant but paucity of funds prevented the authorities to make it available.

It may be mentioned here that the urban water supply scheme, phase-IV, had been approved by the PDWP in 1994 with an estimated cost of Rs99.51 million and 80 per cent work on the project has been completed.

At the time of the scheme’s approval, Rhori Canal was named as the source of water supply whereas the Irrigation and Power Department had recommended Khadar Minor instead.

The Zila Nazim, Faryal Talpur, has discussed the issue with the governor who has promised a sympathetic consideration to her request.