BADIN: The traffic from Badin to Tharparkar remained suspended for the third straight day as the sit-in of the two groups—proponents and opponents of cutting the Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD) ridge on RD 211 in Badin—continued on Sunday.

The track further leads to Karachi from Islam Kot.

Video footage showed that demonstrators tried to block the police mobile van from further moving forward. The provincial administration has so far failed to end the deadlock.

Another attempt to break the deadlock also failed when a local Pakistan Peoples Party leader brought members from the two groups to meet for table talks on Saturday.

Protesters have demanded of the government to revive the natural waterways from RD 211 and fill the “man-made” cracks. They claimed that the cut would lessen the amount of water inflow. Moreover, at least 21 days have passed since cracks appeared at Pran Sem Nullah at the MMD. Locals claimed a man supported by an “influential person” had made the crack. At least nine people were booked in the case on the complaint of locals. Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah had vowed to fill the gap in three days. Floodwaters have reached the nearby areas of Pangrio as the government has not filled it.

Earlier, it was feared that the demonstration would lead to clashes as many people are armed and had batons.

Read more: Sindh’s desperate farmers turn to old-school fence to face flood

“This is government’s clear message for everyone is that any cut will not be made at the whim of somebody,” Sharjeel Memon, the Sindh information minister, said while responding to a query on Badin protest during a press conference in Hyderabad’s Labour Colony, where the tent city has been set up, on Saturday.

“Where the experts of irrigation will tell that this place is suitable for the drainage of water for a cut so the government will this, not somebody’s personal wish,” he added.

The provincial government has been making cuts in the lakes to “decrease water pressure and save people”. The first cut made in the Manchar Lake in Sehwan tehsil on September 4 was aimed at saving big cities from getting flooded. Around 125,000 people were displaced to safe locations.

The pro-cut group, whose 300 villages have been affected by the floodwaters, want to make the cut by themselves if the government was not willing. But, the anti-cut group fears that the development could further impact their areas. Badin is one of the flood-hit areas of Sindh.

What’s the background?

Tando Bhago is the tehsil of Badin. Its boundary is connected with Jhuddo, which is a Mirpurkhas city. Sem Nullah, Pran Sem Nullah travels through Jhuddo, Mirpurkhas Main Drain (MMD), which meets at Pran Sem Nullah in Badin.

Juddho and Mirpurkhas are completely flooded. After this, all the water pressure was coming to the LBOD through the Pran Sem Nullah. A crack had appeared near Malkani Sharif city in Tando Bhago around 20 days ago, prompting people to protest against it. They claimed that it was intentionally made.

After two days, it was confirmed that a person from Sanghar had come to make the cut. His ID card and clothes supported the claim. A first information report (FIR) was registered against him and nine others.

The administration had not filled the gap even after 20 days and so far it has flooded 300 villages of six union councils of Tando Bhago. Residents have been displaced to other areas. The water meets at the LBOD Sem Nullah. There is a natural watercourse 211 RD from where it travels through different areas of the Tharparkar district and reaches the river. Just because such natural ways were occupied, it has led to an increase in the water flow, however, it was going slowly to the river.