THATTA, July 6: Measles has claimed 12 lives during two and a half months in Pandhi Mallah village, Mirpur Sakro taluka, according to official sources.

A doctor at the basic health unit in Bohara said that a large number of people, mostly children, were at the preliminary stage of infection in the village which has about 700 houses of fishermen.

He said that a World Health Organisation team accompanied by the district head of Pakistan Primary Health Initiative Nasim Mirani and workers of an NGO visited the village about 10 days ago and collected blood samples. He said that infected children would only need proper treatment in hospitals.

EDO Health Dr Nasir Jalbani said the District Health Department had taken precautionary measures and was cleaning villages and vaccinating children.

Lakhano Mallah, Adam Gandhro, Sadiq Mallah and other villagers said the poor fishermen could not afford to take their children to urban hospitals in towns and coastal areas had been unable to cope with the situation.

DCO of Thatta Mohammad Jafar Abbasi said the District Health Department had completed a campaign of vaccination against measles. The disease is seasonal and no case has reported from Thatta district or other parts of upper Sindh.

Water shortage

An acute shortage of water in the river network has caused irreparable losses to farmers who are unable to sow paddy crop in Mirpur Bathoro taluka.

Aijaz Ali Khwaja and Mama Ghulam Ali and other growers told this correspondent that the irrigation authorities had yet not released water into Ganj Mehar Canal, Garhi Wah, Fateh Wah, Jaffra Wah and other tributaries linked with lower Pinyar subdivision.

Farmers who have prepared their land and maintained seedlings are the worst hit because many of them have suffered double loss because of their standing cotton and vegetable crops were dying.

Executive Engineer of Pinyari subdivision, Qazi Rafique said the department was releasing the required quantity of water downstream and the land in command area of Pinyari river network would soon get its share.