District admin, SIDA intensify repair work on Shaink bund

CM irked over embankment’s condition, part of which has been eroded by Indus River

SUKKUR: The district administration of Ghotki and Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority (Sida) officials intensified the repair work on Shaink bund after Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah visited the bund and expressed anger over their poor performance on Tuesday.

The chief minister (CM), who flew to Ghotki to inspect the Shaink bund near Qadirpur loop bund after visiting Larkana, expressed anger over the poor performance of Sida officials and left without taking any briefing from them. More than 100 feet of the Shaink bund was eroded by the gushing Indus River, after a sudden inflow of water early Monday morning.

Following information of the CM's visit, the district administration of Ghotki and Sida officials intensified the repair work of the bund and deployed a heavy contingent of police en route to the bund to keep locals away.

During his brief interaction with the media, Shah said Indus River is a king and can change its course without prior intimation and there is nothing we can do about it. Talking about the poor condition of the bund, he said the federal government has not given funds to the provincial government for carrying out the maintenance and repair work on the bunds. All the work is being carried out by the provincial government, he added.

Villagers join the work force

One of the villagers, Wakeel Chachar, who lives near the Shaink bund, told The Express Tribune over the phone that the CM was very angry with Sida officials for not taking proper care of the bund and completing the repair work in time.

He said the people whose villages are situated near the Shaink bund were not allowed to come near the spot where the CM was expected to visit. The district administration had allowed some of their favourites near the spot in order to avoid complaints from the affected people, he claimed. He said hundreds of villagers are working shoulder-to-shoulder with the officials. "It is in our interest to help Sida officials otherwise they will not work properly," he said. However, he said, the condition of the Shaink bund is not satisfactory and all of them are praying for it to withstand the water pressure.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 20^th, 2016.