HYDERABAD, Aug 9: The Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) announced on Wednesday after analysing water at seven spots upstream the River Indus that it was fit for human consumption.
The assistant executive engineer of Wasa said in his report that the analysis was carried out in collaboration with Dr Ahsan Siddiqui, water technologist at the National Centre of Excellence in Analytical Chemistry, University of Sindh.
The quantity of chloride, sulphate, mercury, magnesium and TDS were analysed in the water at all the seven spots and was found fit for human consumption, he said.
According to a decision of the Manchhar Lake Water Release Committee led by the district nazim of Hyderabad, 2,000 cusecs of water was released from the lake into the river through the Aral Wah on Tuesday.
The water committee, to avert a repeat of the tragedy in 2004 when 40 persons in and around Hyderabad had died after drinking water from the Indus River mixed with contaminated water of the Manchhar Lake, took precautionary measures to ensure the water was free of contamination.
The committee, therefore, decided to keep a ratio of 1,000 cusecs of Manchhar water and 50,000 cusec of Indus water. The river is presently in low flood and a large quantity of water is being released downstream Sukkur Barrage.
The committee also decided to carry out the analysis of water on daily basis to ensure that the ratio was not disturbed.
SOIL ANALYSIS: The director general of Agriculture Research Sindh, Hidayatullah Chhajro, urged the scientists on Wednesday to do research into water and soil analysis for the benefit of farming community and increase in per acre yield.
Mr Chhajro paid a visit to different departments of Agricultural University, Tandojam, and was briefed on the ongoing research.
He urged them to accelerate the pace of research and promised the scientists would be provided necessary wherewithal such as vehicles, chemicals and laboratory equipment.
RANGERS DEPLOYED: The superintending engineer of Rohri canal circle, Hyderabad, announced on Tuesday that Rangers had been deployed along canals and watercourses to ensure supply of irrigation water to the tail-end growers and check water theft.
The engineer said in an official handout that the Rangers would patrol along the canals and watercourses at night and warned that anyone found tempering with watercourses or stealing water through lift machines, would be dealt with according to law.
PLANTATION CAMPAIGN: The district would plant 125,000 saplings during one-week campaign starting from August 14 to mark the Independence Day celebrations, said District Nazim Kanwar Naveed Jamil on Wednesday.
The chairman of tree plantation committee, Shahabuddin Siddiqui, who is the EDO of agriculture, told a meeting that the saplings would be made available at the Auto Bahn Road forest nursery from where people could buy 50 paisa a sapling.
The nazim would kick off the tree plantation week on August 14 by planting a sapling at his secretariat.
The EDO said that all the departments and organizations had been asked to take part in the campaign. During the campaign, the police department would plant saplings on August 15, prisoners on August 16, disabled persons on August 17, armed forces on August 18, mental hospital on August 19 and public school on August 20, he said.
The forest department would hold a training programme at the district forest office on August 12 for all the TMAs, educational institutions and the gardeners of various government departments to train them in how to take care of trees.
CONCESSION: The Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) on Wednesday announced 10 per cent concession for the defaulters who volunteered to pay up all their outstanding dues in one instalment.
A spokesman for Wasa said that the July bills had already been issued and the last date for the payment had been fixed as August 11.
He warned that the defaulters’ water supply would be suspended after August 11 and if anyone reconnected the supply, a case of water theft would be registered against him through the recovery magistrate and under the Land Revenue Act 1967, the thief would be fined Rs25,000.
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