GOC Pano Aqil visits Balhreji Patan dyke near Moen jo Daro River Indus
Nazir Siyal/G.R Gorar
LARKANA: News about irrigation officials’ negligence and absence over monitoring of various embankments at River Indus at night was proved truth after acknowledgement of Commissioner Larkana during meeting with GOC Pano Aqil and seeking help of Rangers’ night patrolling.
This stringer flashed the story about negligence and absence of irrigation staff at night on all the River Indus sensitive embankments of Larkana, Kashmore-Kandhkot, Khairpur, Sukkur and other areas.
On Sunday, GOC Pano Aqil Major General Arif Waraich visited sensitive Balhreji Patan dyke near Moen jo Daro and Aqil-Agani, Morialo embankments of River Indus in Larkana. GOC Pano Aqil also held meeting and briefing by the Commissioner Larkana Ghulam Akber Leghari and other irrigation officials.
He was told that the civil society and media have observed that the irrigation officials are failed to perform their duties and dissatisfied with their services, so that they are seeking for Rangers help in patrolling at Indus River dykes.
General Officer Commanding (GOC) Pano Aqil Garrison Muhammad Arif Waraich visited Balereji Patan one of vulnerable embankment of River Indus near Moen Jo Daro and relief camps setup by the Pak Army, reviewed flood fighting measures being taken by Irrigation department and District administration Larkana.
The Commissioner Larkana Ghulam Akbar Leghari and Major Kamran briefed separately to GOC regarding current flood situation and relief activities.
The Commissioner Larkana expressed dissatisfaction over the vigilance of Irrigation Department at sensitive dykes of River Indus Akil Aghani loop bund, Nusrat Loop Bund, Morio Bund and others and sought help from Pak Army to monitor the vulnerable embankments by patrolling
Population of Katcha areas 7612 people out 92676 populations has been shifted to safe places and efforts are underway with help of Pak Army, Pak Navy and Rangers to evacuate the stranded families who were reluctant to move the other places, informing that 2104 villages in Katacha areas of Taluka Dokri are submerged.
Ghulam Akbar Leghari said that flash flood water is posing threat to Akil Aghani Bund and water has started the erosion at 0/ Spur, 0/4 Spur and 0/7 Spur, besides there is potential pressure at Morio Bund and eroded the 250 feet of embankments.
Indus River at Guddu and Sukkur flowing mild to moderate high flood level and rising trends at various locations of Larkana, Kashmore-Kandhkot, Ghotki, Khairpur embankments and towards the Kotri Barrage next few days and hundreds of villages as well as thousands of hectors bumper crop washed away.
Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) has already warned concerned authorities of districts for next 24 hours proper vigilance around the embankments, particularly on 46 vulnerable dykes and locations.
The alarming surge of flood water continued threaten most sensitive Spurs of Sukkur, Balhreji Patan in Larkana, Shaink, Qadirpur in Ghotki and Tori in Kandhkot whereas, the Aqil Agani and other embankments in Larkana Katcha areas have been completely submerged.
The local administration directed displaced population for complete shifting to safer places, while camps are still empty, displaced population avoid in camping with no basic facilities. The Commissioner Larkana Division also issued flood emergency warning in view of the flood situation.
Flood water threatens Katcha areas and hundreds of Katcha villages of Ghotki, Kashmore, Larkana, Khairpur, Sukkur and Shaheed Benazirabad submerged. Besides, Pakistan Army/Navy personals are busy in the evacuation of stranded people of River Indus.
The water level range between 642,595 cusecs and 615,995 cusecs at Sukkur downstream afternoon and current discharge of flood water at Guddu was 737959 and 729338 cusecs downstream level, while at Sukkur Barrage level 600411 cusecs and discharge 581081 cusecs recorded. The Kotri reported 241648 cusecs upstream water level and 236323 cusecs recorded.
It is also pertinent to be mentioned here that the irrigation canals network comprises of three barrages among 14 main canals, 109 branch canals, 1446 distributaries and 43,000 watercourses in upper Sindh, but all the network of irrigation system is in dilapidated condition due to heavy mismanagement and corruption.
There is ineptness of the irrigation department could be judge by fact during these medium flood of over 0.5 or 0.6 million was passing through the province witnessed. As there are no visible signs of de-silting of canals and distributaries, the ultimate result is that the capacity of water flow in almost all canals have
declined to minimum level with the result the tail-enders are not getting their desired share of irrigation water or even running short of drinking water.
The civil society and representatives of the various trade bodies commenting on corruption in irrigation department, similarly the Chief Minister Sindh has also invited the Anti-Corruption Department Sindh to initiate and probe Rs. 50 billion heavy corruption in irrigation since their times.
Similarly, the World Bank sponsored project launched by the Sindh On-farm Water Management designed to line 4,000 watercourses, 100 distributaries, 25 branch canals and precise land levelling of 40,000 hectares is also much behind the schedule.
The competent authorities sanctioned a large number of such outlets and heavy budget for this purpose with a license to use water at their will, while other farm water management introduced to help growers project designed to improve water management system to save it on modern lines, but it was heavily misused and corruption. The government had started due to the importance of agriculture sector pledged Rs 27 billion by launching two parallel projects to streamline entire irrigation network in the province. The projects designed to line 33,200 watercourses and improvement of water distribution under World Bank and national programme to check the water losses to the tune of 15 to 20 MAF, but it is failed since the years.