Enhancing options: CM approves Rs12.6b Sukkur Barrage rehabilitation project

Under the project, flood capacity to be increased by 150,000 cusecs

KARACHI: Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah has approved a Rs12.6-billion Sukkur barrage rehabilitation project, under which flood passage capacity will be increased by 150,000 cusecs and the entire barrage system will be monitored from the control room.

He took this decision while presiding over a meeting at CM House on Friday. The meeting was attended by finance and irrigation minister Murad Ali Shah, chief secretary Muhammad Siddique Memon, additional chief secretary (development) Aijaz Ali Khan, irrigation secretary Zaheer Hyder Shah, water experts Idrees Rajput, Bashir Dahar and Ali Gohar Shah, and British consultant Ian Heijne and his team members.

The consultant, Heijne, said that the barrage structure will be made safe and sound, and flood flow capacity will be enhanced from 1.15 million cusecs to 1.3 million cusecs.

He gave three options for the rehabilitation of Sukkur Barrage. The first option, costing Rs12.6 billion, is to retain the existing river training works, under which flood capacity will improve from 1.15 million cusecs to 1.3 million cusecs, he said, adding that it will improve management to reduce sediment entry into the canals.

For the second option, Heijne suggested that river training works be modified to increase river width. It will increase the flood capacity from 1.15 million cusecs to 1.5 million cusecs with improved flow concentration. It will cost Rs25.2 billion.

The third option that the consultant gave was to increase the number of river spans, and enlarge settling and opening of all the 10 closed gates. It will also increase the flood capacity to 1.5 million cusecs. This will cost Rs26.3 billion.

Irrigation secretary Hyder Shah suggested that the three options given by the consultant after going through a four-year study have different impacts. "But what we need is to discuss all the three options threadbare," he said.

Water expert Rajput suggested that the structure of the barrage was strong enough. Therefore, he said, option one is better than the other options and recommended the chair to approve it.

Water expert Dahar said that, in the first option, it is the standard operating procedure of the barrage management that effective flushing and closure of head-works during large flows will be made.

The irrigation minister also endorsed option one. "We do not need to increase the flood capacity to 1.5 million cusecs because the flood capacity of Guddu Barrage is 1.2 million cusecs.

The irrigation secretary explained that option one includes different works, such as dredging and excavation for silt disposal, civil works for repair and rehabilitation of barrage and canal head regulators, change of gates and mechanical works, modernising of monitoring and control instrumentation, and construction of new building for monitoring and control, laboratory, workshop and others buildings.

Chief secretary Memon was of the view that almost all the issues and problems are covered under option one. If the pond level of the barrage is increased, it will improve discharge in the canals of the left bank, he said.

The chief minister said that Sukkur Barrage was the lifeline of our agro-economy. "Most of our population depends on it," he said. "Therefore, its rehabilitation is overdue." He approved the first option.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 28^th, 2015.