Maintaining chlorine levels: KMC and KWSB refuse to take responsibility
So far, nine people, including a man from Mirpurkhas have died this year in Sindh.
KARACHI:
The health department and the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) have refused to take responsibility for deaths caused by the deadly brain-eating amoebia - Naegleria Fowleri. So far, nine people, including a man from Mirpurkhas have died this year in Sindh.
Sindh Health Minister Dr Sagheer Ahmed chaired a meeting on the increasing number of deaths and directed officials to launch a public awareness campaign.
While the health department believes that it is responsibility of the KWSB to maintain chlorine levels in water, KWSB officials insist it is not. "A committee has been formed to figure out what is causing these deaths," said a KWSB official. "Why are such committees formed if they can't do their job?"
The official disclosed that the committee takes water samples from different areas of the city and send them to an outdated laboratory of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC). "They should send samples to our laboratory," said the official, adding that his department had been maintaining chlorine levels. "Don't you see the leaks in the pipelines? They are actually causing more problems for the citizens."
During the meeting, Dr Ahmed emphasised on the crucial role of the water supplying body, claiming that the only solution was to maintain chlorine levels.
Provincial health secretary Iqbal Hussain Durrani will hold a meeting with KMC officials to plan and launch the public awareness campaign.
Sources said that officials from the health department and KMC were not happy with the role of the KWSB and believe that their [KWSB] negligence is causing the deaths. "It is their responsibility, not ours," said a KMC official who did not wish to be named.
KWSB speaks out
The KWSB believes that the only way to resolve the issue is through a committee that has officials from the KSWB, health department and local government departments. "We aren't told which areas need chlorine," said a KWSB official.
CM seeks an explanation
The chief minister of Sindh, Qaim Ali Shah, has taken serious notice of the increasing number of deaths in the province due to Naegleria. He has asked for an explanation from the KWSB and KMC for supplying water without the required quantity of chlorine and failing to curb the spread of this disease. He wants KWSB and KMC to submit a detailed report to him within two days.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 4th, 2014.
The health department and the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) have refused to take responsibility for deaths caused by the deadly brain-eating amoebia - Naegleria Fowleri. So far, nine people, including a man from Mirpurkhas have died this year in Sindh.
Sindh Health Minister Dr Sagheer Ahmed chaired a meeting on the increasing number of deaths and directed officials to launch a public awareness campaign.
While the health department believes that it is responsibility of the KWSB to maintain chlorine levels in water, KWSB officials insist it is not. "A committee has been formed to figure out what is causing these deaths," said a KWSB official. "Why are such committees formed if they can't do their job?"
The official disclosed that the committee takes water samples from different areas of the city and send them to an outdated laboratory of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC). "They should send samples to our laboratory," said the official, adding that his department had been maintaining chlorine levels. "Don't you see the leaks in the pipelines? They are actually causing more problems for the citizens."
During the meeting, Dr Ahmed emphasised on the crucial role of the water supplying body, claiming that the only solution was to maintain chlorine levels.
Provincial health secretary Iqbal Hussain Durrani will hold a meeting with KMC officials to plan and launch the public awareness campaign.
Sources said that officials from the health department and KMC were not happy with the role of the KWSB and believe that their [KWSB] negligence is causing the deaths. "It is their responsibility, not ours," said a KMC official who did not wish to be named.
KWSB speaks out
The KWSB believes that the only way to resolve the issue is through a committee that has officials from the KSWB, health department and local government departments. "We aren't told which areas need chlorine," said a KWSB official.
CM seeks an explanation
The chief minister of Sindh, Qaim Ali Shah, has taken serious notice of the increasing number of deaths in the province due to Naegleria. He has asked for an explanation from the KWSB and KMC for supplying water without the required quantity of chlorine and failing to curb the spread of this disease. He wants KWSB and KMC to submit a detailed report to him within two days.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 4th, 2014.