Daily Times

The provincial government on Sunday made a cut in Manchar Lake’s dyke in a desperate attempt to protect villagers in Sindh. Irrigation Special Secretary Jamal Mangan said that the cut was located at RD-14 Yusuf Bagh, describing the move as a ‘relief cut’.

Sindh Information Sharjeel Inam Memon told journalists that the embankment cut was made on experts’ advice to save the district’s Sehwan and Bhan Saeedabad towns.

“It was a difficult decision [but] it had to be taken,” he said. The minister said that approximately 125,000 people in five union councils would be affected by the water released through this cut. He said the government had taken steps to ensure citizens were evacuated to safer places. He also disclosed that Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah had reached Sehwan as well. Speaking to journalists in Sehwan, CM Shah said the controlled cut was made to divert water from Sehwan and to ease pressure on the lake. “Even my house in Bajara has been inundated after floods entered my village earlier where my father was born and now my second village will be inundated by water flowing in the wake of this controlled cut,” he added. CM Shah said that Sehwan city was being protected and work would be done at Indus Link to save Bhan Saeedabad. He also said the government stood with the people in the five affected UCs. He said he would review the planning for shifting and accommodating the affected people in camps, adding that he was in Sehwan to finalise this planning.

The chief minister added that flood fighting continued after two nights and the level remained at 123RL in the lake. “Its level was not disturbing for us but actually it was the wave-wash which was triggering the overflowing of the lake’s dyke”, he said.

He said Manchhar lake was Asia’s largest lake and no one could “stop water or fight nature”. The unprecedented torrential monsoon rains across the country on Sunday inflicted further lives and property losses as the total death count in various incidents reached 1,290 and 12,588 individuals got injured since the onset of the rainy season. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) issued a 24-hour situation report released on routine basis that accounted overall life, property and infrastructure losses incurred by the heavy rains lashing out various parts of the country. The heavy rains and flash floods caused deaths of a child in Zhob and a man whereas the details of the latter were to follow. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa some two perished due to roof collapse and flood in various districts including a women due to flood in DI Khan and a child due to roof collapse in North Waziristan. However, in various incidents of roof collapse a man in Lower Dir and three children in North Waziristan were reportedly injured.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecasted that weak monsoon currents from Arabian Sea were penetrating upper and central parts of the country which subsequently caused rain-wind and thundershowers with isolated heavy falls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Islamabad, Northern Punjab, Gilgit Baltistan and AJK from Sep 3rd (Saturday) to Sep 6th (Tuesday). The massive torrential rains have damaged 40,980 houses, including 14,904 fully damaged and 26,076 partially damaged while 875 livestock animals died.

A total of 80 districts had been declared calamity-hit, including 31 in Balochistan, 23 in Sindh, 17 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, six in Gilgit-Baltistan and three in Punjab. In a separate update, the NFRCC said that the Karakoram Highway (KKH) had been opened for light traffic after restoration at Zaid Khar. “It will take some time for heavy traffic, however, transportation on light traffic including Babusar route is being used for fuel and essential commodities in GB as of now.” It added that Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) teams were working round the clock to restore heavy traffic throughout the length of KKH.