Tharis protest against possible cut in dyke

SUKKUR: The people from different caress of Tharparkar gathered at Thar Coal Road near Kaloi Town and staged a demonstration to register their protest against some influential persons are allegedly trying to pressurise irrigation officials to cut the dykes of the Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD) to divert the flow of water towards the residential areas.

The protestors claimed they had already been submerged by the rainwater, adding that they vowed to resist any such attempt, saying that they were forced to take weapons to protect the dykes of LBOD. Due to the rise in LBOD, Puran Dhoro and other drains, most parts of Jhuddu, Naukot and Hayat Khaskheli towns were flooded, while several villages in the vast areas were evacuated and the residents were forced to take shelter at safer places.

The officials said the conditions of LBOD, which is the only channel to drain the rainwater from Nawabshah, Sanghar, Umerkot, Mirpurkhas, Tharparkar and Badin districts towards Arabian Sea.