Manchar Lake to be breached

Authorities decide to make a breach in order to release the stagnant water on the Indus highway.

The water level in Manchar Lake has further receded to 120 Reduced Level (RL).

However, authorities have decided to make a breach in order to release the stagnant water on the Indus highway, which is submerged in five feet of water from the Aral Wah Head to Indus link canal.

As a result, the land route between Dadu, Bhan Saeedabad and Sehwan has been disconnected.

Gushing water is being discharged into the River Indus from 11 points – including Aral Wah Head, Danastar and Karampur.

Hundreds of people are stranded in Bakhtawarpur, Bagh Yousuf and other adjoining villages.

According to Irrigation Authorities, water pressure against the protective embankments along Sehwan and Bhan Saeedabad has been mounting at an alarming pace, threatening the development of breaches, a private news channel reported.

Irrigation and Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) officials are vigilantly engaged in strengthening embankments since yesterday.

More than 125 villages in Sehwan Sharif district have been flooded completely, causing various houses to collapse, according to reports.      (Additional input from APP)

Published in  The Express Tribune, September 25^th, 2010.