Red tape Instead of fixing: Sukkur Barrage, build a new one, say engineers

It will take five years to modernise the barrage at a cost of Rs32b, says retired engineer.

SUKKUR:

Engineers at Sukkur Barrage have reason to believe that building a new barrage will be a more feasible step than fixing the existing one.

Consultant Noor Muhammad Baloch, who is also a retired chief engineer, said the command area of the barrage is spread over eight million acres, while Guddu and Kotri barrages together are cultivating five million acres. According to him, it will take five years to rehabilitate and modernise Sukkur barrage at a cost of Rs32 billion.

He admitted, however, that the engineers at their consulting companies had no experience in designing or constructing barrages. “I am not against the rehabilitation of Sukkur Barrage but it would be far better to develop a new barrage some five kilometres away from the existing one.”

The consultants have completed a survey report and were waiting for its model study, which can be done either in Nandipur, Punjab, or in Hyderabad, Sindh, said Baloch. He said the reason behind the failure of the Left Bank Outfall Drain was because its model study was computerised, when it should have been done on the ground.

“For a successful model study, they will have to build a 100-feet barrage similar to the Sukkur barrage and release water in it for many days to monitor its impact on the structure and the off-taking canals.” The study can be done in Hyderabad and if the experiment proves to be a success, they will go ahead with the rehabilitation of the barrage. The rehabilitation will enhance the life of Sukkur barrage by 50 years, said Baloch, adding that he would still not rule out the construction of a new barrage.

Former secretary irrigation and head of the joint-venture team on Sukkur barrage, Idrees Rajput, said only Mansoob Ali Zaidi, a retired secretary irrigation of Punjab, had the know-how of designing and constructing barrages. According to him, Zaidi was the part of the team of consulting companies, but he left due to the negative attitude of high officials, including former chief engineer Agha Aijaz.  He also questioned the need to spend Rs32 billion on the rehabilitation of Sukkur barrage when a new barrage had been constructed in Punjab at the cost of Rs22 billion. He also suggested building a new barrage.

Aijaz, on the other hand, said that the consultants did not work under him but called Zaidi a competent person.

Zaidi refused, however, to comment over the issue. Zaidi added that he had designed Khanki Barrage, Sulemanki Barrage and Taunsa Barrage. Sukkur barrage, he said, was not only important for the people of Sindh but equally important for the people of Pakistan. Sources in the department said that it was the lack of experience on the part of consultants that was holding them back from the work.

Since it was commissioned in 1932, Sukkur Barrage has braved many floods, including the super flood of 2010. This barrage can be termed as a master piece of British engineering as it has been the backbone of Sindh’s agriculture for decades.

In 1942, 10 out of 66 spans of the barrage were permanently closed to avoid the accumulation of silt in its right pocket, reducing its discharge capacity from 1,500,000 cusecs to 900,000 cusecs. However, it has successfully passed more than 1,100,000 cusecs of water in the past, and it passed more than 1,200,000 cusecs water during the 2010 super flood.

After the 2010 flood, the government hired three consulting companies - National Development Company, Atkin and Allied Construction Engineering - to prepare a survey report for the rehabilitation and modernisation of the barrage. The survey, on which millions of rupees were spent, was started in 2011 and completed by mid-2013. The consultants, according to sources, had written a letter to the Sindh secretary irrigation, asking for six more months to review important matters.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 8^th, 2013.