People wade through water carrying their essentials as a high flood passes through the barrages of Sindh. PHOTO: NAEEM AHMED GHOURI/EXPRESS
Irrigation officials' ineptitude was finally acknowledged by authorities including the chief minister as they failed to strengthen the Shank bund, second line of defence of the Qadirpur loop bund in Ghotki. The Pakistan Army came to the rescue of these officials as the strong current of water began eroding the Shank bund on Monday night.
Water level was constantly rising and all the protective embankments came under pressure as erosion of the Shank bund began. With the situation slipping out of their hands, the district administration sought the help of Pakistan Army. Personnel of the armed forces rushed to the scene and strengthened the bund with the help of stone pitching. Moreover, they rescued the residents of the katcha [riverine] area along with their livestock and helped them shift to relief camps.
Read: Bund maintenance: At the mercy of a rat, a dark night and a careless beldar
On Tuesday, the water level in the upstream of Guddu Barrage was recorded at 570,768 cusecs while the downstream was 568,218 cusecs. At Sukkur Barrage, the upstream was 518,650 cusecs and the downstream was 510,200 cusecs. At Kotri Barrage, the upstream level was 168,954 cusecs and downstream was 167,604 cusecs.
Sukkur Barrage control room incharge Abdul Aziz Soomro told The Express Tribune that the water level at Guddu Barrage is steady and will start receding from Wednesday.
Replying to a question about the release of water by India and increase in unmeasured hill torrents due to heavy rains, former irrigation secretary Idrees Rajput said that there was no need to worry. According to him, the current flood will pass through in a couple of days by the time that the water released by India will pass through the barrages of Sindh in the form of another flood carrying around 650,000 cusecs of water. He was hopeful that the situation will remain under control as the current flood would have passed by then.
Read: Tori bund breach: After five years, judicial commission’s recommendations yet to be implemented
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah visited the Qadirpur loop and Shank bunds in Ghotki on Tuesday. Expressing displeasure over the poor performance of the irrigation officials, he said that had the work on Shank bund been carried out properly and stone pitching done accordingly, the river wouldn't have eroded it. He claimed that most of the zameendari bunds in Indus have been demolished.
Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority (Sida) managing director Babar Effandi briefed the chief minister about the flood situation and position of the protective embankments. Talking to the media at Qadirpur loop bund, Sukkur commissioner Muhammad Abbas Baloch appreciated the timely efforts of the Pakistan Army and expressed dissatisfaction over the performance of the irrigation officials. "The Shank bund would have developed a breach if the army had not come to control the situation," he said.
Sida Ghotki director Muhammad Soomar Chanio told The Express Tribune that if the breach had occurred in the Shank bund, it would have proved disastrous for the residents of the katcha area. He said that the jawans of the Pakistan Army, along with the irrigation staff, are engaged in fortifying the bund and was hopeful that the high flood will pass without causing any damage.
Interestingly, former Sida director Anwar Sial, against whom many complaints of corruption are pending with the anti-corruption department, had gone on a long leave much ahead of the flood season. Sources in Ghotki claimed that the officer was involved in massive corruption and had usurped millions of rupees from the development and maintenance fund.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 29th, 2015.
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