NAWABSHAH, April 20 A fairly large number of growers whose lands lie near the city use raw sewage to cultivate crops over thousands of acres, according to findings of a survey released on Monday.

The survey revealed that growers had vandalised the main sewer on the 60-Mile road, which carried sewage to main treatment ponds outside the city, to steal sewage for their lands.

They were growing wheat, sugarcane, cotton and vegetables on thousands of acres by using the raw sewage thus gotten. The growers had installed valves after vandalising the main sewer which they used to regulate flow of water whenever required.

The sewage contains solid waste which is not only hazardous for peasants working in the fields but also for the people living in nearby areas as they are forced to inhale the funky smell.

A grower said on condition of anonymity that it was being done in connivance with taluka municipal administration and some of their officials were taking huge bribes for letting growers use sewage.

He said that the use of sewage reduced expenses as they used one instead of four DAP and fertiliser bags for their crop after irrigating the land with sewage.

He said wheat, mustard, cotton, sugarcane, brinjal, lemon and other vegetables were being cultivated by sewage carrying solid waste.

He said that water shortage was not an issue because they had enough irrigation water available for cultivation. The growers were doing so to save expenses and some also sold the same sewage to the tail-end growers.

He said that the growers whose used sewage did not eat the vegetables and others crops themselves but exchanged them in the open market for other things.

The president of Sindh Abadgar Board's Shaheed Benazir Abad chapter, Syed Zain Shah, said that the sewage could be used for cultivation but only after treatment.

He said that use of sewage with solid waste was unethical and could harm peasants and consumers. The district government or the authorities concerned could do a lot to recycle that water which could also benefit the growers, he said.

Prof Dr Atta Mohammad Chandio of the Community Medicine Department of the People's Medical College said that use of untreated sewage was very harmful and hazardous for human health.

He said that all the stomach diseases including diarrhoea, dysentery, gastroenteritis and hepatitis-A could be caused by using such water in the fields for cultivation of crops.

Executive district officer of agriculture, Dr Karim Bux Leghari, said that they had not received any complaint about use of untreated sewage for cultivation.

He said that he was not sure whether any survey had been conducted for usage of this hazards water. It was better to use recycled water however the issue pertained to the district administration and the TMA, he said.

Taluka Municipal Officer Nawaz Ali Domki denied use of sewage or vandalising of sewers by growers. The TMA had not awarded any contract for use of sewage to any person and he was sure there was no act of vandalising of main sewer line in any part of the city, he said.

He said that sewage was being supplied to oxidation ponds for settlement and if they received any information about its use, the TMA would take strict legal action.