ON Sept 26, 1976, the nation celebrated Eidul Fitr with fervour. As if often happens, it`s on the second day of Eid that people step out of their houses to visit recreational spots, because the first day is usually meant for greeting and meeting friends and members of the family. In Karachi, on Sept 27, a big number of people, mainly belonging to working class communities, visited public parks, teahouses and Clifton and Keamari beaches. Since the first day of the festival fell on a Sunday, most public and private offices remained closed the next day, not to mention markets and shopping centres, to enable everyone to celebrate the occasion in a traditional manner. The mainattraction on day two was the `Basi Eid Mela` in Clifton near the shrine of Hazrat Abdullah Shah Ghazi. Hundreds of men, women and children from the bas#s and suburbs of the city reached the me/a on camel and donkey carts in colourful dresses. Kabaddi was played on the lush green lawns of the parks in and around Clifton. Magic shows and dance groups also attracted large crowds. Some other groups of citizens opted to go to the Karachi Zoological Gardens where, too, kabaddi was played. A few of the other places that Karachiites chose to visit were Hill Park, Aziz Bhatti Park and Sherpao Gardens.

But the days prior to the festive ones were not worth writing home about. In a week or so, gastroenteritis had affected more than 200 people in Karachi. By Sept 21, it was reported that the number of gastroenteritis patientshad risen to 242 and the disease had already claimed the lives of three infants. Out of the 33 cases brought to hospitals on Sept 21, 12 were admitted to Civil Hospital, two to Jinnah Hospital and one to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.

Eighteen patients, whose condition improved after initial treatment, were sent back home. A meeting of experts presided over by the Provincial Health Secretary, Prof Ali Mohammad Ansari, came to the conclusion that all the cases were seasonal victims of gastroenteritis inflammation of intestine and stomach. They rejected the possibility of the spread of cholera.

Subsequently, talking to Dawn, Prof Ansari said there was no possibility of cholera. Still, he had ordered, as a precautionary measure, mass inoculation of people against the disease in localities from where cases were brought tohospitals. He urged the Karachi Municipal Corporation`s (KMC) health department to intensify cholera inoculation and to destroy overripe fruits that were being sold in the market.

In a related story, a considerable amount of residual chlorine was found in water samples collected from different parts of the Sindh capital during chemical tests carried out by the Karachi Development Authority (KDA) in order to ascertain whether the water supplied to Karachi was contaminated. But it turned out that the major factor for the gastroenteritis cases was the garbage lying all around Korangi, Orangi, North Karachi, Sabzi Mandi, some blocks of Sindhi Muslim Society, PECHS and Muslimabad. They added that the contamination could have been caused by unhygienic and unsanitary conditions in those neighbourhoods.