UMERKOT: With malnutrition and other diseases spreading towards the arid area of Umerkot after taking district Tharparkar in its control, more than 100 children and a dozen pregnant women suffering from malnourishment and anaemic problems have been hospitalised in Umerkot city during 24 hours.

Following shortage of food, people started migration on Saturday to irrigated areas along with their livestock in the wake of food, fodder and water shortage here.

After killing over 193 malnourished children in Tharparkar district during three months, diseases like diarrhoea, cholera, tetanus and pneumonia have attacked children in the arid area villages of Umerkot district and anaemic problems among pregnant women have cropped up.

Doctors taking care of the recently admitted patients say that they have lost immune power due to malnourishment, therefore, the diseases have attacked them. On the other hand, the Civil Hospital of Umerkot has no child ward and it has been facing shortage of manpower, including specialists.

Civil society activists Abdul Haleem Soomro, Kalsoom Sindhu, Bansi Malhi and Kirshan Sharma have called upon the authorities concerned to take practical steps to provide health facilities, food, water and fodder in the area to avoid mass scale loss of human lives.

Late rain and that too in less quantity always created shortage of food and water in the area, they said.