After the flood, repairs of Bunder Wall start

Minister, MNA mum about relocating residents of kachcha Bunder.

SUKKUR:


Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Syed Khursheed Shah inaugurated the repair and renovation work of the Bunder Wall at zero point, near Sukkur Thermal Power Station, on Sunday.


Bunder Wall sustained the tremendous pressure of water during last year’s flood with only some minor seepage, he told the media after the inauguration. “The wall needs to be strengthened and the renovation will be completed by the end of May.”


Meanwhile, MNA Nauman Islam Shaikh said that many people tried to politicise the wall’s repair. “During the flood, people spread rumours of the wall breaking. But the Pakistan Peoples Party leadership never disappointed the people of Sukkur.”

However, no one spoke of the alternative homes promised earlier for the people of kachcha Bunder, the area in the Bunder Wall — from Rohri Bridge to Sukkur Barrage. On April 19, Senator Islamuddin Shaikh had announced that by April 24, the construction of apartments for the people of kachcha Bunder would start. But instead, Khursheed Shah asked the residents of kachcha Bunder to provide ample space for irrigation authorities to carry out the repair work properly.

Earlier, the Sukkur Barrage chief engineer, Agha Aijaz, briefed Shah and told him that the work would cost Rs125 million. A cement and concrete sheet will be laid inside the wall and its height will be raised by two feet.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 25th, 2011.
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