ISLAMABAD, Sept 19: An opposition-less Senate on Monday took serious notice of the deaths of nine people in Karachi from drinking contaminated water and urged the federal, provincial and local governments to take effective steps to control water-borne diseases in the country.

The senators were speaking on a motion moved by Senator Nisar Memon to discuss the government’s policy in providing safe drinking water and combating water-borne diseases.

Earlier, the opposition members continued their protest over the nomination of presiding officer in the absence of the chairman as well as the deputy chairman and boycotted the proceedings.

Soon after the beginning of the session, Opposition Leader Raza Rabbani said that Dr Khalid Ranjha could not preside over the proceedings as his nomination was “illegal”. He said the opposition would not become a part of the “ongoing illegal proceedings”.

“The combined opposition has decided even to sacrifice its business on the private members’ day in order to maintain prestige and sanctity of the house,” Mr Rabbani said before leaving with his other opposition colleagues.

Later, initiating the debate on the issue of safe drinking water, Senator Nisar Memon stressed the need for constituting a committee of the house to inquire into the incident in which nine persons have died in Karachi after consuming contaminated water. He said those responsible should be punished severely and they should be treated as murderers.

Mr Memon regretted that no action had been taken against any responsible person when similar incidents happened in the past in Hyderabad, Jacobabad, Dadu, Multan and Lahore.

“Where are the (inquiry) reports of previous incidents?” he asked.

Quoting a report, the ruling party senator said more than three million Pakistanis had become victims of water-borne diseases and 1.2 million of them, mostly women and children, died every year. “How many people have been hanged for murdering our women and children?” he asked.

The senator also asked the presiding officer to take notice of the absence of the ministers and state ministers for environment and water and power from the house at a time when they were discussing an important issue. Later, Federal Minister for Environment Major (retired) Tahir Iqbal, who was present in the National Assembly, rushed to the Senate to respond to the points being raised on the issue.

Mr Memon also quoted a report of the Unicef according to which 40 per cent hospital beds were occupied by patients suffering from water-borne diseases in Pakistan.

The treasury senator belonging to Sindh, said that he had visited the houses of those killed in Awami Colony and Dawood Chali areas in Karachi and was “feeling ashamed while offering condolence with those who had lost lives of their children.”

The minister for environment Tahir Iqbal, said the government had already launched a massive programme to provide clean drinking water to all by the year 2007.

Federal Minister for Science and Technology Chaudhry Nourez Shakoor said the Centre had directed all the provincial governments to undertake surveys of sewerage lines in their provinces.

The senators also took part in a debate on “the health policy of the government with particular reference to the facility of free medical treatment for the poor.”

Moving the motion, Senator Gulshan Saeed said that medical facilities in Pakistan were not in proportion to the country’s population. She also stressed the need for building new hospitals in the country. She suggested that Baitul Maal fund should go to these hospitals.

Dr Nighat Agha said that doctors did not want to serve in rural areas. She urged the government to make a strict policy in this regard. Senator Razina Alam said there were reports that in some areas, people were being provided animal medicines.

Pari Gul Agha, Naeem Chattha, Dr Shahzad Waseem, Tanveer Khalid and Yasmeen Shah were the other prominent speakers.

Winding up the debate, Federal Health Minister Mohammad Nasir Khan said the government would spend Rs39 billion to provide better health facilities to the people this year.