Good news: Water-level recedes at Guddu, Sukkur barrages, increases at Kotri Barrage

A flood of more than 700,000 cusecs is expected to pass through the Guddu Barrage on August 10

SUKKUR: The water level at the Guddu and Sukkur barrages has begun receding, while a considerable increase has been recorded at the Kotri Barrage. However, different protective embankments between the Guddu and Sukkur barrages and from the Sukkur Barrage to Dadu are still under pressure.

The water-level at the Guddu Barrage has begun receding with a decline of more than 30,000 cusecs being recorded in 24 hours. On Thursday at noon, the upstream at the Guddu Barrage was recorded at 657,642 cusecs and downstream at 634,750 cusecs. At the Sukkur Barrage, the upstream was recorded at 699,600 cusecs and downstream at 650,090 cusecs, while at the Kotri Barrage the upstream was 403,513 cusecs and downstream was 380,008 cusecs with a continuous rise in the water level.



On the other hand, the Tarbela Dam has been filled to its capacity of 1,550 feet with an inflow of 405,000 cusecs and outflow of 426,000 cusecs. According to the irrigation officials, all the water entering the dam will be released in the downstream as the barrage is at full capacity and the river flow might increase due to the heavy rainfall in the upper catchment areas.

Read: Help needed: Residents wait for relief as water level rises at Guddu Barrage

The water level at the Taunsa Barrage is also rising constantly. Its upstream and downstream was 571,347 cusecs on Thursday. The upstream in the Panjnad Barrage is 131,055 cusecs and downstream was 129,055 cusecs. Water from both the barrages will reach the Guddu Barrage within the next three days, which indicates that another flash flood carrying more than 700,000 cusecs of water is expected to pass through the Guddu Barrage on August 10.

Read: Monsoon rain : Water level continues to rise at Guddu Barrage

The flood is unlikely to cause any damage to the protective embankments of River Indus in Hyderabad district, say officials of the Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority (SIDA). A stretch of around 40 kilometers of the river levees, divided into three separate embankments, including Ghalyan, Jamshoro and Giddu Mal, protects the district from the Indus river. “Around 1.2 million cusecs flood passed through Kotri barrage [on whose left bank Hyderabad is situated] during the 2010 flood. The current flood of 600,000 cusecs will easily flow through the barrage,” assured the managing director of SIDA, Babbur Effendi, at a briefing on Thursday at Ghalyan embankment.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 7^th, 2015.