Lower Sindh gets another lashing

Fresh downpours throw a wrench in drainage of floodwater in several rain-hit districts

HYDERABAD:

The heavens opened once again over lower Sindh on Sunday evening, with monsoon showers continuing to lash an already rain-battered province well into Monday.

Umerkot and Tharparkar districts received the largest amount of rainfall in the province while it also rained in Larkana and Sukkur divisions.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department recorded 149 millimetres of rain in Umerkot, 73mm in Tharparkar, 44mm in Badin, 38mm in Thatta, 34mm in Moenjodaro, 19mm in Hyderabad, 16mm in Mirpurkhas and 13mm in Shaheed Benazirabad. Other districts received light showers as well.

The body of a young man, Ajiyo Kohli, who had drowned in the rain-filled Hakro Dhoro in Naukot's Jaffar Ali Dal village the previous day was pulled out on Monday by Pakistan Navy divers.

The new downpour complicated the drainage of rainwater already accumulated in Umerkot, Tharparkar, Thatta, Mirpurkhas and Badin districts, where the previous monsoon spell triggered flash floods in semi-urban and rural regions.

Residents of semi-urban towns in these districts also complained of water scarcity and prolonged power outages.

The Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (HESCO) claimed that it had suspended the power supply to only 80 out of over 500 electric feeders in different districts of Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas and Nawabshah divisions. A HESCO spokesperson stated that the feeders were shut down due to tripping as well as to avoid incidents of electrocution and other mishaps.

In Kaloi, Badin, residents affected by the heavy rain surrounded the vehicle of the local MPA during a protest, alleging that relief goods meant for them had been stolen by district administration officials and staff. The rain had damaged katcha houses in Badin's Kario Ganwar area, displacing people who were forced to take shelter by pitching makeshift tents on the roads.

The overtopping Puran saline channel damaged the Jhudo-Tando Jan Muhammad Road in Mirpurkhas, with area residents expressing the fear that further damage to the road would leave the two towns disconnected.

The bypass road connecting Mirpurkhas with Mirwah Gorchani was also severely damaged. Residents claimed the saline channels were not desilted prior to the monsoon season, leading to overflowing and breaches in the waterways.

Meanwhile, the Lunikot-Bolhari bridge in Jamshoro district was swept away by the by mountain streams swelled by the storms. The water also entered houses in several villages nearby.

In Samar, Umerkot, people looted the tents, supplied to the district administration to aid rain-affected people. Although the police baton-charged the crowd and dispersed it, dozens of tents had already been stolen in broad daylight.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 1^st, 2020.