Sehwan Sharif shrine likely to stay safe: caretaker

KARACHI: The shrine of Hazrat Qalandar Lal Shahbaz in Sehwan Sharif is located a mere 700 yards away from the River Indus but its caretaker says it faces no serious threat from the floods.

According to Dr Syed Mehdi Raza Shah Subzwari, Sajjadah Nashin Dargah Hazrat Qalandar Lal Shahbaz, Sehwan Sharif, the Right Bank Outfall Drainage (RBOD) that was built to take saline water from the river and dump it into the sea near Thatta, will protect the town from floods.

“Stone-pitching has been done inside this 273-km long bund so it will provide great protection,” he told The Express Tribune on Friday.

The town municipal administration and teams from the army and the navy have also inspected the site and up till now, it seems that there are no serious threats.

“We are all concerned but we do not foresee any serious damage to the shrine or the town because the water will have to pass through two bunds before it can enter the city,” he explained.

The floods that have hit Ghotki are expected to come to Sehwan Sharif by Tuesday evening and Dr Subzwari believes that, “we ample time in Sindh to prepare for the disaster.”

The annual urs at the shrine ended three days ago and compared to last year when 800,000 people arrived, attendance was low this year because of the attack at Data Darbar. Dr Subzwari estimated that despite the security threat, 600,000 people still managed to come for the celebrations.

On the third day, however, the devotees from the Punjab hurried back because their families called and informed them about the floods were headed towards Sindh. The people of Sindh have been coming as usual and he said that they did not think that their numbers will go down because the shrine is located on the Indus Highway, which is not blocked.

“The usual number of families can be seen inside the shrine and roaming around the bazaars,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 8^th, 2010.