SUKKUR, Dec 21: The Sindh High Court, Sukkur circuit bench, has summoned the Sindh attorney general, district nazim and officials of the irrigation department , including Chief Engineer Sukkur Barrage and Chief Engineer Guddu Barrage, to appear in the court on Jan 18 in connection with a petition filed by Asad Pathan.

The bench comprises of Justice Ghulam Rabbani and Justice Gulzar Ahmed. The petitioner claimed that the authorities were supplying contaminated water to residents of the city which could play hazards with the human lives.

The petitioner stated that the EDO health Sukkur, Dr Khalid Shaikh, sent a report to above named officers in which he stated that the samples of tap water collected from various places of the city revealed that water was not fit for human consumption.

The petitioner complained that the Punjab government was releasing poisonous water into the Indus, therefore, it should be asked to stop that practice. Earlier, the petitioner had filed a petition in the bench against Sukkur District Nazim, the DCO, the Taluka nazim, the TMO, the director-general of the Sindh health services, the EDO health, EDO public health engineering, the EDO works and services, Chief Engineer Sukkur Barrage, Chief Engineer Guddu Barrage on Dec 15.

The petitioner enclosed a report from the EDO health in which it was stated that water samples collected from various areas of the city had high values of nitrates and turbidity.

The water also includes waste water from fertilizer plants and agricultural fields. "Excessive level of nitrate and nitrates in drinking water causes serious illness and sometimes death" the petition said.

It caused diarrhoea, vomiting, cardiac problem, and causes stomach cancer, especially in those adults who suffer from stomach disorders. The bench after a thorough discussion with the counsel of the petitioner, Mr Shabbir Shar advocate, issued notices to the officials.

PROTEST: Hundreds of people from the Qadirpur area took out a procession on Monday in protest against the inclusion of three villages of the Ghotki district in newly created Kashmore district.

The protesters marching through the main streets of Ghotki reached at the press club. Speaking on the occasion, Nazar Lakhan said Sundrani, Miani and Lakhan villages had been included in Kashmore district.

He said these villages were 75 kilometres away from Kashmore while very near to Ghotki. They appealed to the Sindh chief minister and high ups of the revenue board to review the decision and attach the villages in Ghotki district.

WORKSHOP: The federal project implementation unit in collaboration with the World Health Organization is organizing a three-day workshop on mental illness for NGOs and media, both electronic and print, from Dec 21 to 23 at the EDO health office. WHO director Dr Kartar Lal Pamnani said that the purpose of organizing workshop was to counter stigma and discrimination against the mental health.

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