Residents flee flooding from 3 canal breaches

SUKKUR: Five villages and paddy seed sown over hundreds of acres of land were inundated when two breaches occurred in the Begari Canal.

The breaches, 30 and 40 feet wide, occurred near Degi Sanani and Gulab Sanani villages near Garhi Khairo, district Jacobabad late Wednesday night. Both breaches occurred within minutes of one another.

Around 150 houses were flooded with water. Affected villagers, Lal Bux Sanani, Karam Ali Sanani, Ghous Bux Mugheri and others told the media that irrigation officials were contacted but nobody showed up. The villagers had to plug both breaches themselves.

The breaks occurred around midnight and the irrigation officials were contacted immediately. The villagers finally managed to fill up the hole with mud by 10 am on Thursday.

A team was sent by the department to the site late Thursday afternoon.

According to residents, two feet of water collected in their lanes and caused damage to their fields and households.

Meanwhile, a 30-feet-wide breach also occurred in Mirza Shakh, which originates from the Begari Canal, near the Khawand Dino Mahar village late Wednesday night.

According to the former union council nazim, Mubarakpur, residents had informed irrigation officials about the poor condition of the embankement at Mirza Shakh but the department ignored their suggestion to strengthen the embankment. The breach occurred because of their negligence, said the former UC nazim, adding that poor farmers now had to bear heavy losses since the sown paddy was washed away. Irrigation officials did not even show up after the breach and residents had to plug the gap themselves.

Executive engineer irrigation, Jacobabad Dur Mohammad Behalkani could not be contacted for comment.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 30^th, 2010.