Rescue operation underway around Manchhar lake

Rescue operations in areas around Manchhar Lake were initiated on Wednesday in an effort to evacuate the stranded villagers after multiple breaches were made in the banks of the lake to save nearby Sehwan.

Thousands of people are marooned on both sides of the highway as the lake's water crossed the main road, inundating crops as well as public and private properties.

The majority of villagers left their homes and headed toward other regions without any government support. They set up camps at various spots around Sehwan city and in areas between Sehwan and Jamshoro.

Despite the mass migration, the government has yet to provide displaced families with tents, rations, or medical support.

The historical town of Sehwan continued to face flood risk, as the water level kept rising in Manchhar lake on Tuesday despite several controlled breaches in its embankments, while the flood torrents reached the main Indus Highway, which may sever Sehwan’s link to Dadu.

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Irrigation authorities in Sindh cut open an embankment of Manchhar – the country’s largest freshwater lake – at Yousuf Bagh on Sunday to prevent imminent flooding of Sehwan and Bhan Saeedabad after the lake water rose to a dangerous level.

But when the single breach could not ease the pressure on the lake, which is spread over 200 square kilometres, two more breaches were made on Monday after the water level rose to 126 reduced levels (RL).

However, despite the breaches, the situation remained precarious, as the water level kept on rising in Manchhar. As a result, the threat of inundation of Sehwan and Bhan Saeedabad still remained.