Flood arrangements: ‘Those found building illegal dykes will be penalised’

Guide wall inaugurated in Chachran Sharif.

BAHAWALPUR:

The provincial government will crackdown on people found building embankments around their farms, endangering settlements along River Indus in case of a flood, Senior Advisor to the Chief Minister Senator Zulfiqar Khan Khosa said on Friday.

He was speaking to the media after inaugurating a guide wall built to protect settlements in Chachran Sharif from a possible flood in River Indus. Khosa also visited Bangla Dilkusha and Bangla Icha areas.

He was earlier briefed on various works underway in the area. He was told that a spur would be built on River Indus in Chachran Sharif to protect Basti Jannat. The project would be completed at a cost of Rs50 million.

Khosa took notice of sugarcane farming in the river bed and warned the farmers that the government would not be responsible for their losses. He also criticised sugar mills encouraging cultivation of cane in the river bed.

He said protection of people settled in areas likely to be affected by the flood remained a priority of the government.

Rahim Yar Khan District Coordination Officer Javed Ahmad Qazi assured the senator that arrangements were in place to deal with any emergency during the monsoon season. He said the administration was in touch with administrations of Sindh districts bordering the province.

He said a meeting had recently been held with provincial and district administrations from the two provinces to monitor emergency arrangements. He said Pakistan Army was also represented in the meeting.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 14^th, 2012.