SIALKOT, July 6: The local health department has declared contaminated the potable water being supplied by the tehsil municipal administration to city’s all congested residential, commercial and industrial areas.

DHO Dr Javaid Warraich told reporters here on Thursday that water samples, collected from city’s all the 33 tubewells, had been declared unfit for human consumption by a Lahore laboratory after the chemical examination.

The DHO said that citizens were rapidly suffering from water borne diseases, including cholera, hepatitis and gastroenteritis, due to the intake of contaminated water.

Rusting of pipelines, laid decades back by the TMA, was the main cause of water contamination, he said. Besides, the mixing of sewerage water into potable water on account of damaging of pipelines on various spots had also aggravated the situation.

Dr Warraich suggested that the TMA should install water filtration plants in all the congested and thickly populated areas, besides facilitating all tubewells with chlorine machines to purify the contaminated water.

Earlier, the public health department had already declared the water of city’s 12 union councils out of a total 16 as contaminated and unhygienic.

Housing & Public Health Engineering Department SDO Rana Ibrar Hussain said that affected UCs were: Mianapura, Model Town, Muzaffarpura, Imam Sahib, Karimpura, Hajipura, Ghouspura, Naikapura, Muhammadpura, Shahabpura, Roras Road, Gulshan Town, Pakka Garha, Muhallah Chah Tarkhaana and Muhallah Kashmiriyaan.

The SDO said the PHED had advised the people to use boiled water. The department had also directed the TMA to change the damaged water and sewerage pipelines immediately.

He said most of turbines were only 300 to 350 feet deep while at least 600 feet deep boring system was needed for the potable water.

Health department officials have feared that the gastroenteritis may break out in the city at any time if the TMA fails to replace the old and damaged pipelines.

They said that around Rs35 million would be needed for revamping the underground water pipeline system.

District Nazim Muhammad Akmal Cheema said that filtration plants would be installed in district’s all the 122 urban and rural union councils for the provision of purified potable water to the people.

Protest: Traders and people took out a protest rally on Abbott Road against un-ending power suspension on Thursday.