Daily Times

The water level in the Manchhar Lake – one of the largest freshwater reserves in Pakistan – receded to some extent on Wednesday while efforts continued to protect the ring embankments raised to protect Mehar town from further deluge.

Manchhar Lake has been the main source of the threat, compelling authorities to breach its protective dykes and other structures along its paths in an attempt to divert the flow of water towards less populated areas and prevent flooding in densely populated regions. Mehar Assistant Commissioner, Mohsin Sheikh, told media that around 10 to 12 feet of water was still stagnant in the surroundings of Mehar town located in Sindh’s Dadu district.

“The water level will decrease gradually and we are trying to strengthen dykes to protect them from breaching or damage, he added.

He said the government was more focused on providing relief goods to affected people in flood-hit areas. An official of the irrigation cell, Sher Mohammad Mallah, told media that the water level in Manchhar had reduced to 122.2 feet from 122.5 feet – against the full capacity level of 122.8 feet – as the water was now flowing directly into Indus River through the Larkana-Sehwan (LS) bund. Mallah said the water level at Dadu-Moro bridge had also witnessed a slight decrease.

MNA Sardar Sikandar Ali Rahoupoto said the situation at the ring bund in Dadu was deteriorating due to gusty winds and tides generated in its wake on Tuesday night. But by Wednesday morning, it had returned to normal. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that there was seven to eight million acre-feet of water from Kashmore and Jacobabad to Jamshoro.

“We have to release it to River Indus through Manchar Lake,” he told a press conference in Karachi. He added that the lake also had 1.3m acre-feet of water. The Flood Forecasting Division (FFD) of Pakistan Meteorological Department recorded a high flood of 487,312 cusecs at the Kotri Barrage on Wednesday as the floodwaters have finally reached the tail end of the Indus River.

The threat of a deluge, however, is far from over. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has said that a torrent originating from India is likely to enter Pakistan next week, inundating the already battered riverside areas of the country. In a warning issued on Tuesday night, the NDMA advised the authorities to evacuate people from low-lying areas on the banks of Sutlej, Ravi, and Chenab Rivers.

Meanwhile, Railways officials declared the tracks between Lahore, Quetta and Karachi as ‘unfit’ for use after assessing the damage caused to the track and signal systems following the floods. A private news channel reported that the decision to operate trains between the three cities has been delayed once again.

Subsequent to that, the process of booking and reserving train tickets online was brought to a halt, while a notification was also issued to all the commercial officers to pause bookings of all seven divisions. As per officials, passenger and freight trains will begin operations only after the railway tracks and bridges have been declared fit.