Drain floodwater by Oct-end: CM

Meeting told that water level down by up to eight feet in many places

KARACHI:

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Monday gave irrigation department deadline to drain water from the flood-hit areas of the province by the end of October.

Murad presided over a meeting on the disposal of flood and rainwater from cities, towns, and agricultural lands.

He directed the irrigation department to ensure the draining out rainwater by the end of October so that displaced people could be sent back to their homes and lands could be prepared for sowing early and late varieties of Rabi crop.

"I am working day and night to ensure sowing of Rabi crops, particularly the wheat to avoid a famine-like situation next year for which everyone in the agriculture and irrigation departments has to be my helping hand," he said.

Flood situation

Minister Irrigation Jam Khan Shoro briefing the chief minister said that the Indus River was flowing normally at Guddu, Sukkur, and Kotri Barrages.

He said that Manchhar Lake has also shown a reduction of water by 5.95 feet. Similarly, the water level at Dadu-Moro Bridge has come down by 11 feet.

Shoro said that the water level has reduced along FP Bund ranging from 8.5 feet to 11.5 feet in the upper reach of Saifullah and Rice Canal Division in southern Dadu. He further said that the water level along Suprio has also reduced about six to seven feet.

The water level has reduced from 5.85 to 2.00 feet along KN Shah-Dadu Road.

Talking about the current situation of inundation on the right side of the Sukkur Barrage, the minister of irrigation told the CM that water level in the Johi Branch, RD-67 on KN Shah-Dadu Road has dropped by 6.2 feet.

The breach at FP Bund at RD-169 (Chukhi) and the breach of 600 feet at RD-224 IP Side Saifullah Magsi Branch have been plugged. He said that closing work of cut at Manchhar Lake RD-14 is in progress.

During the online discussion, Zarif Iqbal Khero, Chief Engineer, Development-II told the chief minister that water was receding from LBOD Spinal smoothly at about 1-2 decimals a day which would increase as time passed. He further said that the speedy draining was taking place in Sanghar district as well as in Mirpurkhas apart from Taluka Jhudo which was dependent on further reduction in the Spinal drain at RD 295.

According to Zarif, it will take time to drain water from the Tando Bago town of Badin district because of a breach in Dhoro Puran.

He said land acquisition from private owners was required to connect Tando Jan Mohammad Drain to the outflow into Dhoro Puran. At this, the CM directed Deputy Commissioner Mirpurkhas to ensure the acquisition of the particular land.

He further told the forum that a sufficient waterway has been given to Hakro Dhoro to join Dhoro Puran at RD 211 which was successfully getting water and Hakro's gauges at different places were decreasing regularly.

For draining of the waters of the South-Eastern part of district Sanghar and Umerkot, the Chief Engineer apprised that a separate channel leading to Dhoro Puran at Vango Patan (near Spinal RD 210) has been excavated which has started disposing of water of the area, especially of the Naukot city which happened in the immediate vicinity of the [newly excavated] channel.

District-wise floodwater
position

The chief minister was told that 82% of Matiari district has been cleared of floodwater, 77% of Thatta district has been dewatered, Ghotki 75%, Hyderabad 70%, Sanghar 65%, Umerkot and Kashmore 58% have been cleared, Jacobabad 41%, Shikarpur 55%, Kambar-Shahdadkot 25%, Larkana 48%, Dadu 13%, Suukkur 50%, Khairpur 46%, Naushehroferoze 48%, Shaheed Benazirabad 53%,Mirpurkhas 52%, Tando Allahyar 56%, Tando Allahyar 61%, Sujawal 53% and Badin 41%.

The chief minister directed the irrigation department to clear the Roshanabad Bridge, District Mirpurkhas within the next four days so that it could be used for vehicular traffic.

The meeting was attended by Irrigation Minister Jam Khan Shoro, Chief Secretary Sohail Rajput, Brigadier Nayar of Engineering Corps Fifth Corps, Secretary to CM Rahim Shaikh, Chief Engineer Irrigation Jamal, DG PDMA Salman Shah, and former chief engineer Zahid Shaikh.

Those who attended the meeting through video link included Chief Engineer Development-II Zarif Khero, MD SIDA Pritam Das, and Chief Engineer Sukkur Sardar Shah.

 

.Published in The Express Tribune, October 4^th, 2022.