Daily Times

Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Murad Ali Shah has directed Planning and Development (P&D), Irrigation departments to conduct a feasibility study pertaining to new Sukkur Barrage and channelisation of River Indus between Guddu and Sukkur barrages.

He directed the relevant officials to conduct the feasibility study on Saturday while presiding over a special meeting to discuss the construction of new Sukkur Barrage. The meeting also discussed Guddu and Sukkur barrages in detail.

During the meeting, CM Murad explained that the aim of channelizing River Indus between the two barrages was to reduce water losses, control water logging and salinity and protect the area from breaches.

It was pointed out that the distance between Guddu and Sukkur was 180 kilometres (km) and width of the riverbed was between 12 to 20 km. It was pointed out that construction of new bunds (embankments) would not only reduce width of bed of river but create more than 500,000 acres of new land for cultivation. The meeting was told that the concrete channel would also reduce water losses which had been estimated between five to eight percent.

The meeting decided that instead of lining the entire belt of the river, select portions of the bank could be lined instead in order to reduce costs and develop fresh aquifers on both the banks of Indus. It was decided that river would only be channelized in the areas where breaches were frequent.

The meeting noted that Chinese had expertise in channelisation of rivers and canals. The meeting decided to prepare a concept paper for channelising River Indus between Guddu and Sukkur barrage for forthcoming Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) meeting to be held on December 20.

The meeting also noted that Sukkur Barrage had completed its lifecycle and its life was currently being enhanced by another 30 years through major repair and overhauling. The meeting decided that a new barrage needed to built at Sukkur. Murad Ali Shah said that study for construction of new barrage had already been conducted and now feasibility report was required to assess actual alignment of bridge and expenditures to be incurred and time frame for completion of work.

The chief minister said that a study on maintenance of same catchment areas as that of the current barrage would be soon conducted and incorporated in the report. “We will also discuss study and decide under which mode barrage may be constructed,” he told the participants. He then instructed the P&D chairman Muhammad Waseem to make necessary arrangements for preparing a feasibility report.

Member of National Assembly (MNA) Khursheed Shah, water expert Idress Rajput, Sindh ministers, Imtiaz Shaikh and Nasir Shah, Special Assistant of CM on Irrigation Ashfaq Memon, former Sindh Assembly parliamentarian Nasrullah Baloch, P&D chairman Muhammad Waseem and chief engineers of Irrigation department attended the meeting.

Published in Daily Times, December 9^th 2018.