HYDERABAD: Water contamination: report not finalized
HYDERABAD, Nov 28: The Sindh chief minister's inquiry committee which met here on Sunday could not finalize its recommendations in the water contamination case.
The committee, headed by Sindh irrigation secretary Ashfaq Memon, decided to meet again on Nov 30 either in Karachi or Hyderabad before submitting the report to the chief minister, it was learnt.
Mirpurkhas DCO Dr Siddiq Memon and Hyderabad District Nazim Makhdoom Rafiquzzaman also attended the meeting held in Barrage Colony. The committee had completed its findings but the recommendations, including action to be proposed against officials found responsible for the water crisis, were still in the process of finalization, a committee member said.
The meeting discussed the role of the Hyderabad Development Authority, Water and Sanitation Agency and officials of irrigation and finance departments, non-completion of the Right Bank Outfall Drain project, non-release of funds of the president's Hyderabad Development Package of Rs10 billion and other points.
Another source said the committee members were facing difficulty in fixing responsibility on any particular department or individual, that was why the report had not been completed as yet.
He said they were also of the view that cases of water-borne diseases were always reported during summer, especially in June and July, given unhygienic conditions in the city. He said this time the contamination in the Indus water had aggravated the situation.
The committee members, however, were of the opinion that some concrete recommendations or action should be proposed to avert any such crisis in future. The Sindh High Court, Hyderabad bench, has given a last chance to the committee to submit the report in the court by Dec 2.