Sindh faces three-pronged flood threat this year, warns Haleem Adil
Pakistan Relief Foundation assesses needs of residents before torrential rains hit upper Sindh.
A number of villagers sitting on a boat as the katcha areas from Rohri to Pano Aqil are submerged in floodwater that has flowed down from the Punjab, where torrential rains hit last week. PHOTO: EXPRESS
SUKKUR:
Unlike the floods and torrential rains of the last three years, this year we are facing a three-pronged threat of floods from rivers, torrential rains and hill torrents.
This was shared by Pakistan Relief Foundation chairman Haleem Adil Shaikh during a visit to the katcha areas between Rohri and Pano Akil.
The purpose of the visit at this stage, he said, was to assess the needs of the displaced persons of the katcha areas. He said the government alone could not face natural calamities, and, therefore, the civil society should stand shoulder to shoulder to help the displaced people.
“The super floods of 2010 wreaked havoc in upper Sindh, while, in 2011 and 2012, torrential rains hit upper and lower Sindh. But, this year, he said, according to the Met office, torrential rains are in the offing, which would ultimately bring hill torrents and make the situation worse than yesteryears. He said the PRF was a purely welfare organisation and had nothing to do with his party, PML-Q. On this occasion, he distributed water coolers, tents and food items among the shelterless persons living on protective embankments.
An ambulance equipped with modern facilities, medicines, a doctor and paramedics were accompanying his caravan. The doctor checked many patients with skin allergies, eye rashes, diarrhoea and fever and gave them medicines. Shaikh said so far the situation seemed much under control, but no patrolling by the irrigation staff was seen at the protective embankments.
The government should deploy more police at the protective embankments to ensure safety of the displaced families, he added.
During the visit, it was observed that most of the katcha areas from Ali Wahan near Rohri to the Soomro Panhwari in Pano Akil have been inundated and many families and their cattle had moved to the protective embankment.
Hundreds of villages on the way were seen submerged in flood water. At Soomro Panhwari embankment, district government Sukkur had arranged some motorised boats to evacuate the villagers.
According to irrigation sources, the 2010 hill torrents that came gushing down from Koh-e-Suleman in Dera Ghazi Khan turned the otherwise stable situation into a big disaster. The sources said that during the super flood of 2010, at one stage the water level became steady for more than 24 hours, but then, unfortunately, hill torrents carrying more than 100,000 cusecs of rainwater added to the volume of water at Guddu barrage and everything went out of control.
They said that big landlords in the Koh-e-Suleman region had constructed water reservoirs to store rainwater for irrigating the lands later. In 2010, these reservoirs were already full because of the heavy rains and after more hill torrents, their reservoirs were destroyed and the water flowed into Indus. The hill torrents from Koh-e-Suleman do not affect Sindh only, but some parts of Balochistan as well. As far as the present situation is concerned, water level will not rise more than 600,000 cusecs at Guddu barrage, which is going to reach high flood level on Monday night with the discharge of 500,000 cusecs, the sources told.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 20th, 2013.
Unlike the floods and torrential rains of the last three years, this year we are facing a three-pronged threat of floods from rivers, torrential rains and hill torrents.
This was shared by Pakistan Relief Foundation chairman Haleem Adil Shaikh during a visit to the katcha areas between Rohri and Pano Akil.
The purpose of the visit at this stage, he said, was to assess the needs of the displaced persons of the katcha areas. He said the government alone could not face natural calamities, and, therefore, the civil society should stand shoulder to shoulder to help the displaced people.
“The super floods of 2010 wreaked havoc in upper Sindh, while, in 2011 and 2012, torrential rains hit upper and lower Sindh. But, this year, he said, according to the Met office, torrential rains are in the offing, which would ultimately bring hill torrents and make the situation worse than yesteryears. He said the PRF was a purely welfare organisation and had nothing to do with his party, PML-Q. On this occasion, he distributed water coolers, tents and food items among the shelterless persons living on protective embankments.
An ambulance equipped with modern facilities, medicines, a doctor and paramedics were accompanying his caravan. The doctor checked many patients with skin allergies, eye rashes, diarrhoea and fever and gave them medicines. Shaikh said so far the situation seemed much under control, but no patrolling by the irrigation staff was seen at the protective embankments.
The government should deploy more police at the protective embankments to ensure safety of the displaced families, he added.
During the visit, it was observed that most of the katcha areas from Ali Wahan near Rohri to the Soomro Panhwari in Pano Akil have been inundated and many families and their cattle had moved to the protective embankment.
Hundreds of villages on the way were seen submerged in flood water. At Soomro Panhwari embankment, district government Sukkur had arranged some motorised boats to evacuate the villagers.
According to irrigation sources, the 2010 hill torrents that came gushing down from Koh-e-Suleman in Dera Ghazi Khan turned the otherwise stable situation into a big disaster. The sources said that during the super flood of 2010, at one stage the water level became steady for more than 24 hours, but then, unfortunately, hill torrents carrying more than 100,000 cusecs of rainwater added to the volume of water at Guddu barrage and everything went out of control.
They said that big landlords in the Koh-e-Suleman region had constructed water reservoirs to store rainwater for irrigating the lands later. In 2010, these reservoirs were already full because of the heavy rains and after more hill torrents, their reservoirs were destroyed and the water flowed into Indus. The hill torrents from Koh-e-Suleman do not affect Sindh only, but some parts of Balochistan as well. As far as the present situation is concerned, water level will not rise more than 600,000 cusecs at Guddu barrage, which is going to reach high flood level on Monday night with the discharge of 500,000 cusecs, the sources told.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 20th, 2013.