Sukkur Barrage: Not enough water to desilt canals, complain authorities

Experts claim the interference by influential politicians is ruining the irrigation system.

SUKKUR: The annual repair and maintenance works at the Sukkur Barrage are in full swing as the off-taking canals remain closed until January 20.

During this time, the gates of the main barrage are raised to allow the water to be released downstream. After dewatering the canals, their pavements are checked for possible faults, which are rectified if any. In the meantime, silt which is accumulated between the filter blocks of the canals is removed. According to the Sukkur Barrage control room’s in-charge Abdul Aziz Soomro, the purpose of these filter blocks, which are four feet deep and two feet wide, is to prevent seepage under the floor of the canals.



A survey of the Sukkur Barrage revealed that a large quantity of silt has accumulated in the canals, because of which their discharge capacity has considerably reduced. The largest quantity of silt has accumulated in the rice canal, where an excavator has been deployed to remove the silt and clear the approach.

“The problem of accumulation of silt has been persisting since a long time but we cannot flush it out properly after the floods season,” explained Soomro. “We need at least 150,000 to 200,000 cusecs of water to carry out the flushing operation which is not available after the floods.”

According to sources, the complete operation includes cleaning and checking the floor and filter blocks of the canals as well as oiling and greasing all the gates. The gates must be painted every 10 years to prevent them from gathering rust. “The last time the gates were painted was during the rehabilitation of the barrage in 1986,” claimed the source.

Speaking about the silt accumulating at the barrage and the canals, the source lamented that the regulation system of Sukkur Barrage was politicised and water was released into the canals according to the whims and wishes of the influential politicians and landlords. Citing an example from the year 2013, the source recalled that the barrage’s authorities had wished to close down the off-taking canals temporarily in September to carry out the flushing operation. They could not do so because of pressure from the politicians who opposed the closure.

“This interference by the politicians is ruining the biggest irrigation system of Sukkur Barrage”, said the source, who wished not to be named.

Meanwhile, the barrage’s executive engineer, Muhammad Murad Mahar, told The Express Tribune that the maintenance works were being carried out smoothly and no major issues were found in the inspection of the pavements and the filter blocks.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 14^th, 2014.