Johi, Mehar residents left to fend for themselves

Men, women, children toil in harsh weather to strengthen dykes

DADU:

Currently feeling abandoned by the provincial government, in true "when the going gets tough, the tough get going" fashion, residents of Johi and Mehar, have taken it upon themselves to stop the flood from devastating their towns.

Men, women, and children of the two towns of Dadu district, who have stuck around despite a threat of heavy flooding, are trying to strengthen the ring bunds to avoid destruction of their property - a repeat of their actions during the 2010 flooding. “As we speak, the ring bunds are around 3 feet above the water level. If the windy conditions persist then this could be breached in the next 24 hours.

However, we are committed to defeating the flood,” said Sattar Khoso, an engineer who lives in the area. Khoso along with 1,500 to 2,000 others from the area, spend almost all day on the ring embankment and all of them believe that they can not let their cities drown. “When it started flooding most areas of Qambar Shahdadkot district and Mehar tehsil, there was a desperation in our town too as a massive breach had occurred in the canals in front of us. But some youngsters, especially women and girls, are now strengthening the dyke around our town to fight the flood without any government help,” a proud Khoso remarked.

The women can be seen digging out the mud and filling the sandbags in order to plug the sensitive points around the ring bund. However, it is the government’s absence from this fighting spirit, which irks Professor Aziz Kingrani, a writer who lives in Johi.

“The Manchar Lake is like bomb waiting to explode, but no one has done anything about the three breaches that have occurred in the last four days alone,” he said. Kingrani opined that all the devastation that was currently happening was a fault of the incompetent goverment which had not learnt any lessons from the 2010 flood.

“Sindh would not be inundated if the government departments had maintained the drains and canals. It was the government’s job to strengthen the ring bunds.” Despite the government’s absence, many like Khadim Mahesar, who is part of the trader’s alliance in the area, have high hopes that their efforts will bear fruit. “Many people have left for other places but we are here with our families to defend our towns,” said Mahesar, reiterating Khoso’s feelings.

When asked about the fast approaching flood, provincial Irrigation Minister, Jam Khan Shoro, said that the situation in the area became worse following Manchar lake’s high water level. “Almost all the water coming from northern areas of Sindh and Balochistan is released in Manchar Lake. The water is supposed to be released from the Manchar to River Indus, but since there was huge water flow in the river, it has created problems for us,” he explained. However, the Minister remains optimistic about the situation. “In the next two or three days soon water flow in the river will decrease,” Shoro said while talking to The Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 9^th, 2022.