HYDERABAD, May 24: The Hyderabad District Council on Monday demanded registration of an FIR and action against officials of departments concerned, especially the irrigation department , for supplying contaminated water to residents of the district.

The council witnessed a heated debate on the issue as three more people died of diseases, reportedly caused by consumption of contaminated water. It said that Sindh and district governments should apologize to the people of Hyderabad for providing them with poisonous water.

The council members held the Sindh government squarely responsible for the situation. Convener Nawab Rashid Ali Khan combined identical resolutions on the issue which were unanimously adopted by the council.

The resolutions had been tabled by Mohammad Yousuf Qureshi, Rana Mehmood Ali Khan, Qazi Qadeer and Ehsan Ahmad. Mr Khan demanded resignation of the Sindh irrigation minister and arrest of other irrigation officials.

He alleged that health department's initiatives to purchase more medicines were aimed at embezzling millions of rupees. Mr Qadeer criticized the managing director of Wasa for supplying water to people despite knowing the fact that it was contaminated.

He said that Wasa should have stopped supply of water to people till availability of fresh water. Ibrahim Chishti alleged that the district Nazim had not taken any notice of the plight of residents of Latifabad who had been complaining against supply of contaminated water.

He said that Sindh and district governments had done nothing to address the issue. He deplored that no official responsible for the crisis had been taken to task. The chief whip of the council, Miran Mohammad, sought an apology from the Sindh chief minister, district Nazim and other officials.

He disputed a claim of irrigation secretary Bashir Dahar that mineral water was being supplied to Hyderabad. Had the irrigation department been so efficient, he said, people of rural areas would have been getting potable water. He said that people of Badin must be ready as contaminated water had reached the district.

The member said that there was no need of the devolution system if it could not resolve problems confronting people. About release of the sugar cess fund to union councils of rural areas, he said that he had come to know through a reliable official that the sugar cess file had been kept with other 'dormant files'. He said that the members would continue their struggle for the release of the funds.

Dr Ayaz Arain, Roshan Shah, Sumaira Akhlaq and others also criticized Wasa and irrigation officials and said that side effects of consumption of water would emerge later. They claimed that 250,000 people had been affected due to supply of contaminated water.

They regretted that everything was being run on ad hoc basis and no measures were being taken to ensure a permanent solution to the problem. The council noted with concern that none of the officials had owned responsibility for the morass. It said that despite assurance by the district Nazim, the situation created by supply of contaminated water to Latifabad had not improved.