Contaminated Water Kills Nine in Pakistan

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) -- Nine people have died and 1,600 have been sickened after drinking contaminated water from a state-operated reservoir in southern Pakistan, officials and witnesses said Tuesday.

Dr. Hadi Bakhsh from the main hospital in the city of Hyderabad, 60 miles northeast of the port city Karachi, said people suffering from diarrhea began streaming in more than two weeks ago.

The contaminated water is supplied by a state-run water agency from Manchar Lake, outside Hyderabad in Pakistan's southern Sindh province. The source of contamination is unknown, and authorities have ordered an investigation.

Angry crowds gathered outside government offices Tuesday demanding the punishment of officials responsible for the water supply. They blocked the road and pelted shops and vehicles with stones, witnesses said.

Government officials have announced $3,500 in compensation for families of each person who died.

Since May 10 hospitals have treated some 1,600 people, officials said. Provincial Health Minister Naeem Ishtiaq told The Associated Press that four children and a woman died Monday night.

The World Health Organization is preparing a report after taking lake samples.

I apologize for getting these maps to you so long after you pinged me.

This first map is just to orient you to where Hyderabad fits into the picture. The second map will zero in on the details raised in the thread story.

As you can see on the map below, Manchar Lake is located along the Indus River, about 150 km (90 mi) NW of Hyderabad.

It might seem strange for Hyderabad to obtain their water from such a remote location, especially since one of the world's greatest river systems (the Indus River), flows right through their backyard.

But the problem is that the Indus River, at least at this point, is highly polluted with human, animal, farming and industrial wastes. And since very little of the Indus River Valley's sewage is treated at a treatment plant, the local ground water is just as polluted.

Hyderabad is located at an elevation of only 92 feet above sea level and yet is over 120 miles distant from the river's outflow into the Arabian Sea. Because of these conditions, no local water source can be trusted for human consumption.

Some of these same pollution problems also affect the water in Manchar Lake itself (a local sightseeing, fishing swimming, boating, attraction, btw), but those problems are exacerbated by a faulty delivery system that allows exterior pollution to enter.

I Googled this issue on the internet and found that pollution and disease from Hyderabad's Manchar Lake water supply has been a long term, ongoing problem for the city, and this latest outbreak of sickness and death can easily be tied to the city's failure to install a modern water treatment facility, as well as their failure to repair their aging and leaking water distribution system.

The people have a right to be angry over this failure by their government. If Pakistan's got enough money to build nuclear weapons and missiles, then they can damn well spend some of that money to build something as basic as a safe water supply. (Idiots!)

One of the best sites on the internet for maps of the world:

--Boot Hill

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