ISLAMABAD, May 29 (Xinhua) -- At least 27 people have died of heat and three children died of gastroenteritis and hundreds were hospitalized for treatment of the disease in Pakistan's central Punjab province during the last 24 hours, local newspaper Daily Times reported on Monday.

    Most of the heat deaths were in southern Punjab, as temperatures shot up to 47 degree Celsius in Multan and 48 in DeraGhazi Khan, Bahawalnagar and Bahawalpur.

    More than 150 people also fainted due to the sizzling heat.

    Meanwhile, three more children suffering from gastroenteritis died on Sunday and 50 people, most of them children, were admitted to hospital in Sheikhupura.

    The number of gastroenteritis cases has increased in the district with the death toll until Sunday reaching 11 during the last 28 days.

    The number of people suffering from gastroenteritis in the district has reached around 1,200 within a month with hundreds also consulting private hospitals and clinics. The increasing death toll has alarmed people of the area.

    Muhammad Azhar Hayat, the medical superintendent of Sheikhupura DHQ hospital, said that water contamination was the reason for the increasing incidence of gastroenteritis in the area.

    Abdul Qayyum Qureshi, the director of a private health institution, said that more than 10 people suffering from gastroenteritis were being treated at his medical center daily.

    Around 50 people were admitted to government and private hospitals in Daska and Sambrial Tehsils on Sunday.

    People complained of poor health facilities at the Daska Tehsil Headquarters Hospital, rural health centers and basic health units in the wake of gastroenteritis outbreak. However, health department officials claimed that the overall situation was under control.

    Health and sanitation authorities have failed to ensure the supply of clean water in the Ghulam Muhammadabad where 16 people recently died of gastroenteritis and cholera.

    A survey of government and private hospitals revealed that the number of people getting ill after drinking polluted water was on the rise. Enditem