SUKKUR: World Bank Task Team leader Francois Onimous has emphasized on establishment of a barrage management unit which will repair, maintain and operate Guddu, Sukkur and Kotri barrages. Besides, the unit will also monitor the water level in the Indus River. Presiding over the virtual meeting to review the progress of Sindh Barrages Improvement Project, Francois Onimous said that the water-level fluctuation at three barrages – Guddo, Sukkur and Kotri barrages - is critical to safety of barrage structures and proper water distribution. Therefore, a mechanism should be evolved for maintaining water-level on these barrages.
Onimous stated, “Right canals of Sukkur Barrage, Dadu, Rice and NWC, are facing sediment problems since construction of the barrage in 1932. In order to find out a solution, model study was carried out in Pune, India in 1947, which suggested a permanent closure of 10 gates out of 66 gates of Sukkur Barrage. Despite the closure of those gates, the silt problem still persists.”He stressed on sediment monitoring at barrage and canal levels for resolving silt deposition problems.Coordinator Monitoring Unit Planning and Development Department Ehsan Leghari and World Bank Consultant Junaid Ahmed Memon also stressed on developing SOPs for sediment management at barrages’ level.
