Six people record their statements
The two-member judicial commission, comprising Justice (retired) Ghulam Nabi Soomro and Justice (retired) Zahid Qurban Alvi, is looking into the controversial breach at Tori Bund, which wreaked havoc in several areas of Sindh and Balochistan. The commission was formed following allegations that the government had deliberately made a cut in the dyke.
The commission started recording statements at 10 am and continued till 5:30 pm. However, although they had asked 22 people to come to Circuit House in Sukkur and share their accounts, only six of them bothered to show up.
Mohammad Akram Bhayo, a resident of Qayas Bhayo village, told The Express Tribune that his village is quite near the Tori Bund. “It took just 20 minutes for our village to get flooded,” he said.
“We were taken by surprise. The gushing water did not give us time to save anything,” he said, adding that they were among the first, and worst, affected victims of the breach.
His story was corroborated by Khawand Ali Bhayo, who also belongs to the same village.
According to official sources, the programme of the judicial commission was published in newspapers along with contact numbers. Twenty-two people called the numbers and registered but only six of them followed through with their promise to share information.
History of the case
On August 7, Tori bund, located near Ghouspur in Kashmore, gave in to tremendous pressure and a 300-foot-wide breach developed in the embankment. The breach continued to widen and soon stretched to 2,500 feet.
Areas affected by the floodwater rushing out of the breach included Tori Bungalow, Hamid Malik village, Qayas Bhayo village, Markh Bhayo village, Jam Sonharo Chachar, Dost Mohammad Sabzoi village, Dari Town, Ghouspur Town, Karampur Town, Jhangal Bhayo village, Raja Ghous Bux Bijarani Town and Deh Jamal.
All these areas were caught off guard and residents had little time to save anything but themselves. In some areas, such as Qayas Bhayo village, which is situated just adjacent to the second line of defence, six to eight feet of water remained standing for two weeks.
Following the breach at Tori dyke, other ones including the old and new Ghouspur dykes, Makhwani dyke and Ghoraghat dyke, also gave in, further aggravating the devastation.
After wreaking havoc in Kashmore district, the water rushed towards Jacobabad, Garhi Khairo, Jafferabad, Shikarpur, Larkana, Qamber-Shahdadkot, Dadu, Sehwan and Jamshoro. Millions of people were displaced as a result.
The process of repairing Tori started once the water receded. The project was assigned to the Frontier Works Organisation on August 29. It took 20 days and millions of rupees to plug all five cuts.
During a survey of flood-affected areas in Ghouspur and Shikarpur, residents alleged that the authorities had made a cut in Tori Bund on purpose to avoid making a cut in Ali Wahan dyke because a federal minister’s lands were likely to be damaged. A cut in the Ali Wahan dyke would have caused very little damage because the water would have made its way mostly a desert and is very thinly populated, the people added.
Published in The Express Tribune ,October 8th, 2010.
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