Déjà vu: Low flood warning in Sutlej at Ganda Singh

Water from River Jhelum inundates Okhli Mohla village in Khushab.

KASUR/SARGODHA/SIALKOT:

A low flood has been reported in River Sutlej near Kasur after around 50,000 to 70,000 cusecs of water flowed through the Head Ganda Singh on Friday.

Kasur district coordination officer has issued a warning and cautioned the residents of the low-lying areas to be prepared to with alternative arrangements in case they had to vacate their houses.

The water level at Head Ganda Singh reached 12 feet on Friday.

The recent flood wave has been caused by heavy downpours in Kasur and its surrounding areas.

Several residents of the low-lying areas on Friday staged a protest against district administration for making ‘insufficient arrangements’. The protesters stopped a Pakpattan-bound train for several hours.

Talking to the media, Kasur DCO said relief camps had been set up at Kasur Talwar Post, Baqir Kay, and Kunganpur’s Kothi Fateh Muhammad area. He said the district administration was on high alert and that they had been directed to watch out for the flood and start relief efforts without wasting time.

Residents of Ali Ahmed Shah Colony, Salamatpura, and areas surrounding the Railway Station said the areas were inundated and that water from Ruhi Nullah had even made into their houses.

Flood water from River Jhelum has inundated several houses in Okhli Mohla village of Quaidabad tehsil in Khushab.

A basic health unit and the high school of the village have been surrounded with water, causing severe inconvenience to patients and students.

Water has also inundated the Matha Tiwana main road and bus service on the road has been temporarily suspended.

Talking to media, provincial secretary Karam Elahi Bandial assured that arrangements would be made to drain the water from the village. As many as eight Sialkot villages were inundated due to a 15-feet-wide breach in Naullah Aik. Crops on hundreds of the acres of land were reported to have been damaged due to the flooding. Officials at the District Flood Control office said the villages affected by the flood were Nagor, Ghueinky, Kot Karam Bukhash, Ismail Awan, Ludhar, Talwara, Kotli Murlaan and Gunjiyaanwali. They said once the breach was plugged there was no danger of further floods in the area. PPI



Published in The Express Tribune, August 16^th, 2011.