43 points along the Indus River declared sensitive

PDMA to coordinate with departments, agencies to rescue people, said director-general

KARACHI: The monsoon and prediction of heavy rains have led around 43 points along the Indus River dykes from Kashmore to Thatta to be declared sensitive.

"We have asked officials concerned to mobilise the machinery and plug these points properly," an irrigation department official said, adding that the development work along the river embankment is not satisfactory. In case of negligence, Sindh could face a flood similar to the 2010 and 2011 disasters.

"The big challenge is the private dykes within river Indus. People encroaching upon riverbeds have started cultivating crops and set up farm houses. Despite reminders, the deputy commissioners and district administration have not taken action to dismantle these dykes," said a senior official in the irrigation department.

After the 2010 flood washed away the entire right bank of the river Indus, displacing thousands of people, the Sindh government had constituted a commission to investigate the Tori breach. The commission, headed by Justice (retd) Zahid Kurban Alvi, in its recommendations, had suggested dismantling private dykes within the river. But no action has been taken even after six years.



"How can the government take action when its minister and elected representatives have been encroaching upon the riverbed," an official asked adding that they have directed the district level officers to patrol and stone-pitch the existing dykes.

In order to deal with these issues, a meeting was held at the office of the provincial rehabilitation department where the officials presented a plan to deal with challenges of floods and rainfall in the current year. The meeting was chaired by provincial rehabilitation and population welfare minister Mumtaz Jakhrani and attended by officials of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) and other departments.

PDMA Director-General Salman Shah discussed the monsoon plan and said that a second meeting would be held to finalise the plan.

"In July, there will be normal rainfall in Sindh and the intensity will reduce in August," he said. He added that the officials must be careful, since rainwater would be coming from up country like Kashmir, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.



Shah said that the PDMA would coordinate with various departments and agencies to rescue people and make arrangements for the monsoon.

"We remain in touch with the health, irrigation, Meteorological and other departments in this season," he said.

On being asked about the District Disaster Management Authorities' (DDMA) non-functional performance at local level, Shah said the DDMA comes under the domain of deputy commissioners. "It can play a significant role, unfortunately, they come into action after a disaster," he lamented.