SEHWAN: Sindh’s Bhan Syedabad, a small town near Sehwan, was feared to sink as the water level started to increase in Manchar Lake despite the authorities’ attempt to allay the pressure with multiple cuts.

Electricity supply was disrupted to the area after the flood water entered the grid station. At least nine union councils have so far been completely damaged due to cuts made in the lake and water overflow.

The flood affected people have been shifted to safe locations. The Sindh government earlier this month made cuts in the lake to divert the watercourse in order to save big areas. As many as 125,000 people were displaced after the first cut. Bhan Syedabad is facing a double threat as the water course was also entering the area from the upper side, Balochistan.

Local residents told Aaj News that it’s been nine days and there was no one from the government to inquire after them. They lamented the apparent apathy of the Sindh government and CM Murad Ali Shah whose village is seven kilometres away from the area.

One of the residents complained about the lack of food and clean drinking water.

Flood protective dykes’ breaches will be plugged

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah in consultation with the Irrigation experts and army engineering corps on Friday decided to plug the breaches that occurred in flood protective (FP) and pump out water from the cities and towns of Khairpur and Naushahro Feroze districts to restore day to day life, Associated Press of Pakistan reported.

“Since the flood/rainwater is receding in the river Indus, therefore we have to develop a mechanism to dispose of stagnant water from cities,” he said while presiding over a coordination committee meeting here at the CM House.

The chief minister proposed to plug all three breaches of the FP dyke so that its water instead of flowing into the nearby towns and villages starts flowing into Manchhar Lake which has also started discharging into the Indus river.

Experts pointed out that the condition of the dyke was “so feeble and precarious” that machinery could not be moved there to plug them. Therefore, they decided to plug them manually by sending the workforce and material there.

The Manchhar had attained a water level of 122.2 (early Friday gauge), experts said. The water level has reduced along the FP dyke ranging from five feet to nine feet in the upper reach of Saifullah and Rice Canal Division. Whereas three feet to five feet in the lower reach of Southern Dadu Division.

The water level along Suprio has also reduced about nine inches to two ft. Warah Canal level was reduced from 6.5ft to 5.2 ft. The water level in Dhamrah was flowing upward, now it is flowing into MNV and the water level is continuously reducing.

Shahdadkot main drain and Miro Khan Main Drain level have lowered about one foot to two feet and were flowing in RBOD-III. The Ghar Main Drain which was flowing in reverse was flowing into MNV and its level started reducing from two to three feet.

The Mehar Main Drain flows in MNV and its level is also reduced by about one ft. KN Shah Main Drain flows in MNV and it has a reduction of six inches. The overall water level was depleting in the upper areas of Taluka Qubo Saeed Khan, Shahdadkot, Kambar, Warah, and Nasirabad.

The water level along Ring Bund of Mehar Town has also been reduced by about eight inches.

Officials said that there was a need for restoration of the power connection of Gharo Pumping station, Kherpur Nathan (KN) Shah Pumping station and Mehar Pumping station in the areas of Dadu district so that flood water could be disposed of from KN Shah and Mehar towns.

The chief minister directed the chief secretary to talk to the SEPCO chief about the restoration of the pumping station’s power connection.