High flood at Guddu, Sukkur barrages to stabilise by next week

SUKKUR: The high floods at both the Guddu and Sukkur barrages are likely to drop to low level flood by next midweek, meteorologists at the Flood Forecasting Division told The News on Wednesday.

According to the officers at the Flood Forecasting Division, Lahore, Guddu Barrage was largely stable on Wednesday though witnessing high flood levels of 540,000 cusecs. It is likely to witness a drop in levels by Thursday/Friday, easing the pressure on the riverine areas.

However, the Sukkur Barrage is likely to take another week to stabilize towards low flood. On Wednesday, medium to high flood (418,000 cusecs) was recorded there, which is likely to achieve high flood from Thursday and continue in the next week.

Meanwhile, the seven gates of Sukkur Barrage were opened on Wednesday after removal of sediments that had kept them blocked posing problems for regulation of water and impeding the water flow. Following the work, traffic on the Sukkur Barrage earlier shut down was allowed.

In a related development, the Kashmore-Kandhkot Police have begun patrolling at the Ghoraghat Dyke near Kandhkot, where work to plug the breach was stopped after the engineering staff was fired upon by goons of an influential person from the neighbouring area last week. The repair work is expected to begin soon.

In Johi, hundreds of rain affected people of Johi’s riverine area flooded by hill torrents protested against the government and district administration complaining that while gastroenteritis is spreading, the government seems to have chosen to look the other way. There is no medical aid for the gastroenteritis and skin infection fast spreading among the marooned villagers. The protesters said 10 children have passed away during the last one month due to gastroenteritis but the MNAs and MPAs or officers of the district management have not bothered to visit them. They also complained that the chief minister had pledged relief supplies, which have not reached them either. The protesters said due to the stagnant water, which came from the Kirthar hill torrents and continues to keep Johi cut off from Dadu, they cannot access markets and hospitals.

Besides Johi, the riverine areas of Kashmore (Larkana), Khairpur (Sukkur) and Kazi Ahmed (Shaheed Benazirabad) remain flooded and evacuation of hundreds of villagers with cattle was underway.

The villagers said the administration has not come to their assistance and they had to shift to safer places on their own. They deplored that houses and standing crops were inundated by the flood and nothing was being done to drain away the water, which would turn into a source of diseases.