Guddu Barrage braces for massive deluge today

CM Murad says situation worse than 2010-11 floods

KARACHI:

The Indus River flowing down all the way from the Himalayas through Kashmir, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab is bringing a huge deluge in Sindh.

Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said that high-level flood will be entering Guddu Barrage by tonight, whereas a flood with more intensity would pass through the Sukkur Barrage by Tuesday.

After a meeting with Irrigation Chief Engineer Syed Sardar Ali Shah, he told media on Monday that monitoring of the Sukkur and Guddu Barrage has tightened and things will be under control as expected. He said the Sindh Province is going through its toughest times.

An estimate of 600,000 cusecs of flood water will enter the barrages, the CM said.

He said the province has received around 500% more rainfall than its monsoonal average and the "situation is more critical than the floods of 2010-11".

Murad said the average for the season has been between 150-200mm of rainfall across the province, a statement said on Monday.

Addressing a press conference in Sukkur, the chief minister stated that the "gravity of the situation could be realised from the fact that the Pakistan Meteorological Department recorded 355 mm of rain on August 19 in Padidan town of the Naushero Feroz district, while Guddu Barrage was flooded".

"We are facing a more critical situation as compared to the 2010-11 floods and another heavy spell of rain is coming tomorrow. However, we can deal with this catastrophic situation."

CM Murad, who has been visiting flood-affected areas for the past two days, said almost all districts of Sindh were badly affected and that he would personally visit every district to monitor the situation.

Responding to a question about floods in the coming days, the provincial chief executive said it depended on weather conditions but as of now there was no threat of more floods.

"I recently visited Guddu and directed the Irrigation Department to properly monitor the river's embankments. The department has set up a checkpoint every half a kilometre to monitor the situation and prevent any breach", he said.

Commenting on infrastructure losses in district Sukkur, CM Murad said at least 4,377 houses were damaged and 14 people lost their lives.

"I am receiving a more detailed brief on the situation, but so far around 19,200 people have been affected and 112,377 acres of standing crops have been damaged in the district," he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 23^rd, 2022.