Karachi (PPI) - Recent death of kids due to consumption of sewerage-mixed water in Landhi Town occurred because the family had taken illegal water connection, which might be get mixed sewerage line. EDO Health Dr. A. D. Sajnani said this talking to PPI on Saturday here. EDO said that the government is providing clean and safe drinking water to the metropolis, adding had the water mixed with sewerage line then the entire Landhi Town would have suffered. According to our investigation it has been found that the family had taken illegal water connection from a sewerage line, which resulted in deaths, he added. He said the kids died due to the bacteria called E Coli, which was found in the water they were getting from illegal connection. We are running Health Education Campaign and we would be advertising public awareness messages regarding precaution from diseases in the wake of recent rains on TV and newspapers from Sunday, said Sajnani. He said that the people would not suffer from diseases if they take precautionary measures like boiling of water. They should also avoid consuming stale food, he added. They should take care of their personal hygiene and wash their hands with soap, which could prevent them from diseases, he said. People would not be affected from diseases if they follow the above-mentioned precautions, he assured. He claimed that people dont use these precautionary measures, which results in diseases and sometimes fatalities. Our teams are working to drain out accumulated rainwater from underpasses and different parts of the city, he said. Our teams would also do fumigation once the raining is over, he added. Infection Control Society Pakistan President Dr. Rafique Khanani, when contacted, said mixing of sewerage water with the drinking water pipelines in Karachi is a reality. He said that the government filters water at the filtration center but on its way of supply, this water could be mixed with sewerage, as most of the water pipelines are leaked in the city. This mixing of water mainly occurs when the authorities do provide interrupted water supply to the citizens and empty drinking water pipelines start sucking air and these pipes suck sewerage water from parallel leaked sewage pipeline, he said. He added that contamination of drinking water due to sewage water is done with both legal and illegal connections. If the potable water were provided uninterruptedly to the citizens then there would be less chances of contamination, he said. He added that this mixing of water could be prevented if citizens get constant supply of potable water. He feared that after the recent rains there would be rise in diarrheal diseases and typhoid. The chances of dengue and malaria would also go on rise after the raining as the mosquitoes and flies multiply in stagnant water, he added. After some time of the rains snakebites cases would also surface in suburban areas, he added. Unfortunately the draining out of rainwater and pesticides spray has never been done satisfactorily at government level and that is why people should take preventive measures and use boil water and consume fresh food, he said. Due to the raining water reservoirs normally go contaminated due to inflow of dirt mixed rainwater, which are the main source of water supply to the city, said Former General Secretary MPA Karachi Dr. Qaiser Sajjad. He added that this happens because these reservoirs could not be covered. He said that most of the time the Chlorination of water is not done properly at government level due to the fault at Chlorination machines owing to improper maintenance and people receive dirty and contaminated water. It is a hard cold fact that drinking water mixing with sewage water occurs and after raining the color of water is even changed, he said. He added that the mixing mainly occurs at places where old lines are functioning like Landhi, Korangi, Federal B. Area, Orangi, Baldia, North Nazimabad, Lyari, Surjani Town and other old parts of the city. He said that the water pipelines are running parallel with sewage lines in majority of city areas. He added that most of the time leakage occurs in the lines as the water is provided with fast pressure and old line gets burst. The government comes to know about major leakages but small leakages go unreported most of time, which results in the fatalities of the people, he said. It is the governments responsibility to ensure supply of clean drinking water and prevent line leakages, he added. The cases of gastroenteritis and diarrhea would go on rise after raining and sometimes vomiting is so severe that all the minerals of body are depleted which results in fatality, he said. He added that cases of Hepatitis A, E and typhoid would also go on rise after mixing of water. He said that sometimes serious intestinal problems occur due to typhoid and patient dies. He added that people should be made aware about these diseases. The masses could use boiled water, which is safe and cheap, he said. He added that people could also buy chlorine tablets from the market, which are cheap. He said that people are also negligent, as they dont bother to boil water and drink it.