‘No danger to Kotri Barrage’

The government has increased vigilance by deploying 200 army personnel, Rangers and police to patrol its embankments.

HYDERABAD: Although there is no danger to Kotri Barrage, yet the government has increased vigilance by deploying 200 army personnel, a battalion of Qasim Rangers and police to patrol its embankments, said DCO Hyderabad Aftab Ahmed Khatri on Thursday.

He said the government has evacuated around 2,000 people from the vulnerable kachcha areas of the Sahrish Nagar and Qasimabad villages. The government would provide every kind of help to the people affected in the relief and medical camps.

He said the task of setting up relief camps and to provide food and medicines to the people has been given to EDO revenue Hyderabad Barkat Ahmed Rizvi.

He said the fortification work of embankments was being carried out by the Sindh irrigation department and the Sindh irrigation and development authority.

That government has formed committees for various districts comprising ministers, MPAs and officers who will hold daily meetings to review the situation and suggest measures, said the DCO.

He said the water level at Sukkur had receded, while it was increasing at Dadu. “The peak of the flood is expected to reach Kotri Barrage within the next seven days.”

Published in The  Express Tribune, August 13^th, 2010.