KARACHI, Dec 28: The Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) on Friday collected water samples from parts of the city for testing at the HEJ Institute of Chemistry after rumours spread on Friday that the main water supply line of the city had been poisoned.

An official said that though it had been established that there was no poisoning, the KWSB had collected samples from different filter plants to further determine its assessment.

“We have collected samples from the COD Filter Plant, Hub Filter Plant and NEK (North East Karachi) Filter Plant and sent those to the HEJ Institute, which would finalize the report in a day or two,” he said.

“There is no case of poisoning. No such case has been reported. It’s all based on rumours. We have been unable to confirm where, why and how they began. The law enforcers have been securing all such installations and poisoning the main supply line, which carries millions of gallons of water, is next to impossible,” he added.

Rumours of the poisoned water supply gripped parts of the city on Friday when mosques in several areas announced warnings about the ‘poisoning,’ which ultimately forced the authorities to intervene and deny the reports.

Concerned citizens kept calling newspapers’ offices and Edhi Information to clarify the situation as hundreds of thousands of text messages swept across the city warning against the consumption of water, claiming that the main supply line from Hub Dam had been poisoned.

“The rumours first gripped the areas of Surjani Town, where announcements were made from the mosques that somewhere in Gadap Town the main supply line has been poisoned, which we believe is ridiculous to even think about,” added the official.