Big breach in Rohri: Canal displaces people, damages crops

SUKKUR: A 250-foot-wide breach in Rohri Canal near Manaharo village in Naushahro Feroze has damaged the standing crops spread over hundreds of acres and flooded as many as 80 nearby villages, marooning hundreds of people in the raging waters. According to the villagers, the breach widened in a short span of time due to the pressure of water but the Irrigation Department did not respond despite informing the senior officials of the department. They alleged had the irrigation department timely switched off the supply from the canal, the damage would have been contained. The villagers tried to plug the breach on their own but could not due to lack of equipment. Hundreds of villagers along with their cattle were stranded as over 80 villages, including Aziz Gopang, Larkana village, Chuttal Dahari, Yousuf Dahari, Ameer Bakhsh and others were flooded.

Meanwhile, the flood entered some of villages of Nawabshah also but the irrigation department diverted it to rescue the Munaharo village. After a lot of delay, the security and irrigation authorities moved in to evacuate the marooned people and deployed equipment to plug the breach and stop the water from flooding other areas. Later, the residents staged a protest over the alleged negligence of irrigation department and its failure to timely respond during the emergency.

Meanwhile, a 20-foot breach in Kotri Canal near Gharhi Khairo and a similar breac in Babali Canal in Mirpur Mathelo have also developed threatening the surrounding agricultural area and residing population.