Panic grips Thatta city
A third breach in a PB canal embankment near Fakir Goth spreads panic in Thatta - Army, Rangers rush to help.
THATTA:
A third breach in a PB canal embankment near Fakir Goth spread panic in Thatta, with the district’s coordination officer ordering the evacuation of the city.
At last report, the Army and Rangers were rushing to control the breach, which, if not contained, will send flood waters gushing towards the city. As the news of the breach and evacuation got out, panic and hysteria spread among the residents.
Earlier, at least 500,000 people were displaced in Thatta district on Thursday, following a breach along MS Dyke in Kot Aalmoon, caused by the surging River Indus.
The breach developed early on Thursday morning, flooding over a dozen villages in Sujawal, Jati, Shah Bandar and Mirpur Bathoro sub-divisions. Later in the evening another breach developed at PB Dyke near Lukabungalo, which was being contained by irrigation officials. Erosion and seepage was reported at other embankments, including the Sarjani Dyke, which is being guarded by local volunteers and the armed forces.
As tides rumbled towards the villages of Mago Jhakro, Ali Akbar Jhakro, Soomar Soorjho, Latho Soorjho, Ghulam Qadir Soorjho among others, panic spread among villagers who began heading to the town of Thatta. Their belongings blocked the National Highway and hampered rescue efforts by road, compelling officials to seek the Pakistan Navy’s help to evacuate villagers through helicopters. Rescue officials were given just four to five hours to evacuate the area, which they felt were insufficient. “Half a million people cannot be evacuated in four hours,” said a panicked MPA Humera Alwani, who was monitoring the rescue operation.
As roads gradually became submerged, the Pakistan Navy and the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) rescued stranded villagers through boats. However, no attempts were made to plug the breach to prevent it from widening.
The district government had declared Kot Aalmoon sensitive but unlike most sensitive dykes, Kot Aalmoon was totally neglected over the past week. Consequently, both officials and villagers were caught off-guard when the 150-foot wide breach occurred at around 4 am on Thursday. The dyke had been built to guard the population around Dharo, Bannu, Sujawal and Laiqpur areas, all of which were submerged by Thursday evening.
In Thatta, the Indus is guarded by 40 embankments along 96 miles on the right bank and 83 miles on the left. Twenty-six points were declared vulnerable by the government over the past week. Although these points were being guarded by locals, MNA Abdul Wahaj Soomro said that more needed to be done as some major cities of the district were also under threat. “The entire district has been put on red alert,” he said. “We are threatened today due to the negligence of irrigation officials over the past 15 years. They need to be taken to task at some point,” Soomro said.
Mass evacuation in the district prompted a visit by Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah and General Officer Commanding (GOC) Hyderabad General Shaukat Iqbal to monitor the situation. There was no official record of the number of people evacuated till the filing of this report but according to the PFF, 100,000 people had been moved out of the area. The CM announced that arrangements for at least 150,000 displaced people had been made in Karachi, where they will soon be shifted.
Meanwhile, senior administration officials of Sindh have warned that fresh floods threaten three towns.
“We have warned people of Sujawal, Mirpur Bathoro and Daro towns to leave for safer places in view of possible flooding there,” Hadi Bakhsh Kalhoro, a senior official in Thatta district, said. “These towns have an approximate population of 400,000.”
Residents seem to have complied and evacuation has begun in Sujawal. “Most people have left Sujawal. I’m also leaving town with a heavy heart with my family,” Mohammed Bakhshal, a 40-year-old farmer, said. However, leaving isn’t easy. “Local transporters are demanding a lot of money to carry our luggage and families to Thatta and Karachi. I had 15,000 rupees in savings, which I’m now spending on transport.”
Sindh Irrigation Minister Saifullah Dharejo said that waters were also mounting pressure on a protective embankment in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh village, where former leaders Benazir Bhutto and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, are buried. “We have strengthened the embankment because we don’t want mausoleums of our martyrs to be flooded.”
Punjab
Ten villages in the Border Union Council of Kasur District have been hit by flash floods in River Sutlej. According to the district administration, water inflow in the river is 70,000 cusecs.
Reservoirs on the eastern rivers of India are holding a huge amount of water, posing a threat of flood in the River Sutlej, they said, hence the Kasur administration has asked people in the low-lying areas to evacuate. However, people have refused to evacuate without their animals.
Kasur DCO Jahanzaib Awan told Express 24/7 that arrangements have been made to cope with the floods.
Water levels in the Sutlej River are continuously rising. The suburbs of Haveli Lakhan have been flooded and agricultural lands along the river banks in Kasur are also under water. The inflow of water in Sutlej River currently stands at 62,000 cusecs.
(With additional input from AFP)
Published in The Express Tribune, August 27th, 2010.
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: August 27, 2010
Due to a transcription error, an earlier version of this article misstated the name of the dyke in Kot Aalmoon. It is MS Dyke not SM Dyke.
A third breach in a PB canal embankment near Fakir Goth spread panic in Thatta, with the district’s coordination officer ordering the evacuation of the city.
At last report, the Army and Rangers were rushing to control the breach, which, if not contained, will send flood waters gushing towards the city. As the news of the breach and evacuation got out, panic and hysteria spread among the residents.
Earlier, at least 500,000 people were displaced in Thatta district on Thursday, following a breach along MS Dyke in Kot Aalmoon, caused by the surging River Indus.
The breach developed early on Thursday morning, flooding over a dozen villages in Sujawal, Jati, Shah Bandar and Mirpur Bathoro sub-divisions. Later in the evening another breach developed at PB Dyke near Lukabungalo, which was being contained by irrigation officials. Erosion and seepage was reported at other embankments, including the Sarjani Dyke, which is being guarded by local volunteers and the armed forces.
As tides rumbled towards the villages of Mago Jhakro, Ali Akbar Jhakro, Soomar Soorjho, Latho Soorjho, Ghulam Qadir Soorjho among others, panic spread among villagers who began heading to the town of Thatta. Their belongings blocked the National Highway and hampered rescue efforts by road, compelling officials to seek the Pakistan Navy’s help to evacuate villagers through helicopters. Rescue officials were given just four to five hours to evacuate the area, which they felt were insufficient. “Half a million people cannot be evacuated in four hours,” said a panicked MPA Humera Alwani, who was monitoring the rescue operation.
As roads gradually became submerged, the Pakistan Navy and the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) rescued stranded villagers through boats. However, no attempts were made to plug the breach to prevent it from widening.
The district government had declared Kot Aalmoon sensitive but unlike most sensitive dykes, Kot Aalmoon was totally neglected over the past week. Consequently, both officials and villagers were caught off-guard when the 150-foot wide breach occurred at around 4 am on Thursday. The dyke had been built to guard the population around Dharo, Bannu, Sujawal and Laiqpur areas, all of which were submerged by Thursday evening.
In Thatta, the Indus is guarded by 40 embankments along 96 miles on the right bank and 83 miles on the left. Twenty-six points were declared vulnerable by the government over the past week. Although these points were being guarded by locals, MNA Abdul Wahaj Soomro said that more needed to be done as some major cities of the district were also under threat. “The entire district has been put on red alert,” he said. “We are threatened today due to the negligence of irrigation officials over the past 15 years. They need to be taken to task at some point,” Soomro said.
Mass evacuation in the district prompted a visit by Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah and General Officer Commanding (GOC) Hyderabad General Shaukat Iqbal to monitor the situation. There was no official record of the number of people evacuated till the filing of this report but according to the PFF, 100,000 people had been moved out of the area. The CM announced that arrangements for at least 150,000 displaced people had been made in Karachi, where they will soon be shifted.
Meanwhile, senior administration officials of Sindh have warned that fresh floods threaten three towns.
“We have warned people of Sujawal, Mirpur Bathoro and Daro towns to leave for safer places in view of possible flooding there,” Hadi Bakhsh Kalhoro, a senior official in Thatta district, said. “These towns have an approximate population of 400,000.”
Residents seem to have complied and evacuation has begun in Sujawal. “Most people have left Sujawal. I’m also leaving town with a heavy heart with my family,” Mohammed Bakhshal, a 40-year-old farmer, said. However, leaving isn’t easy. “Local transporters are demanding a lot of money to carry our luggage and families to Thatta and Karachi. I had 15,000 rupees in savings, which I’m now spending on transport.”
Sindh Irrigation Minister Saifullah Dharejo said that waters were also mounting pressure on a protective embankment in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh village, where former leaders Benazir Bhutto and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, are buried. “We have strengthened the embankment because we don’t want mausoleums of our martyrs to be flooded.”
Punjab
Ten villages in the Border Union Council of Kasur District have been hit by flash floods in River Sutlej. According to the district administration, water inflow in the river is 70,000 cusecs.
Reservoirs on the eastern rivers of India are holding a huge amount of water, posing a threat of flood in the River Sutlej, they said, hence the Kasur administration has asked people in the low-lying areas to evacuate. However, people have refused to evacuate without their animals.
Kasur DCO Jahanzaib Awan told Express 24/7 that arrangements have been made to cope with the floods.
Water levels in the Sutlej River are continuously rising. The suburbs of Haveli Lakhan have been flooded and agricultural lands along the river banks in Kasur are also under water. The inflow of water in Sutlej River currently stands at 62,000 cusecs.
(With additional input from AFP)
Published in The Express Tribune, August 27th, 2010.
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: August 27, 2010
Due to a transcription error, an earlier version of this article misstated the name of the dyke in Kot Aalmoon. It is MS Dyke not SM Dyke.