HYDERABAD, Aug 17: Wapda proposed to the Sindh government to raise embankments of the Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD) over a year ago so that it can carry excessive rainfall and saline water, but Sida Managing Director Mohammad Ihsan Leghari said that Wapda had submitted only the report of its consultants without authenticating it.

Another proposal requiring rehabilitation of whole the LBOD system called as integrated management organisation at a cost of Rs9 billion is lying with the Sindh government. The plan was worked out by a joint team of the federal and Sindh governments a year ago, according to a Wapda official. However, Sindh government's position is that it has been handed over the LBOD with a faulty design.

The recommendations are with the Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority (Sida) which is having a separate study of the LBOD to be completed by early 2013.

The LBOD, which is a lengthy system of drains having different components, was completed in 1997. It has a capacity of 4600 cusec of water with a provision of certain amount of rainfall.

However, rapidly changing weather patterns have upset all estimates of engineers and resultantly crops, human settlements and livestock are hit very hard by implications of drain.

Before falling in Arabian Sea the LBOD -- also known as spinal drain -- travels in two different directions through Kadhan Pateji Outfall Drain (KPOD) and Dhoro Puran Outfall Drain (DPOD).

Wapda's member water Raghib Shah told Dawn from Lahore on phone that the DPOD was supposed to dispose of spinal drain's 2000 cusec of water into Shakoor Lake whose 80 per cent area falls in Indian territory and 20 per cent in Pakistani territory. “Remaining 2600 cusec goes to sea through KPOD which is connected with a tidal link.”

The Sindh government claims that drain is built with a defective design and drain gets backflows of water whenever there is a high tide in the sea.

The drain does not have provision of rainfall runoff in different components [saline water generation in different districts connected with LBOD] especially that of coastal region of Badin with the result that water overtops the drain and leads to breaches it.

In addition to it growers cut banks of drains to dispose of rainwater accumulated on their land.

According to Shah, initially Nawabshah component of the LBOD was given to the Sindh irrigation department in 1999, Sanghar and Mirpurkhas components in 2000 and spinal drain and tidal link in 2001. “It is the Sindh government that controls/maintains the LBOD now,” he said.

Had the study done by Wapda been implemented and its banks' height would have been raised, it would have been able to carry 150mm of rainfall.

“Its water carrying capacity will be increased to 9000 from 4600 cusec,” he said.

This study was conducted following rains in 2003 and Wapda made a set of recommendations after initiating a study in 2007 and completing it in 2009.

“We submitted our proposal to Sida on Feb 10, 2010. We were then told that Sida is having a separate study conducted through consultants for a left bank region drainage master plan and our study will be merged with that,” he said.

“If there is any problem we are open to discussion. We can sit with Sindh government officials to discuss the issue and sort it out,” he asserted.

He confirmed that Wapda had proposed that until rehabilitation programme of Rs9 billion worked out jointly by a federal and Sindh governments team is approved.

Sindh Secretary Irrigation Khalid Hyder Memon has rejected contentions raised by Wapda's member on the ground that the provincial government was handed over the drain with a faulty design and the Sindh government has recorded its reservations on day one.

“Wapda may build dam but canal infrastructure or drains are quite different systems,” he said.

He disagreed with Mr Shah that the drain was design to accommodate 75mm rainfall runoff. “It is actually just 50mm of rainfall that can be received by the drain and Wapda didn't keep in mind that they are building drain in the coastal region where rainfall can be as high as 400mm to 500mm,” Mr Memon said.

According to him, maintenance is the secondary thing. More important are sections, flow and alignment of drains, he said, adding that what the irrigation department could at the most do was to clear weeds.

“People of Badin are so scared of the LBOD that they don't accept anything and they call for restoring old routes of drains like Dhoro Puran which has been closed,” he said.

He reiterated that the irrigation department would now go for a short-term strategy to identify old contours. “We will ask our consultants Lois Berger, who are dealing with master plan of drainage works, to submit their findings on the LBOD component of Sindh within certain time limit.

“We are currently facing a disaster. Let this be over and we will be talking to our consultants. We have already informed Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani in this regard to seek federal government's support.”

A number of breaches in the LBOD network have played havoc in Badin district in the wake of recent torrential rains, displacing hundreds of people and washing away standing crops on a large swathe.

Presently high tide in the sea has stopped flow of drain water in the sea, turning water flowing in reverse direction.