KARACHI: The Sindh government is considering whether to go for rehabilitation of the Sukkur barrage or build a new barrage as 80 per cent of the provincial agriculture economy depends on the barrage whose failure could affect 26.4 million people and reduce the provincial GDP from Rs7,308m to Rs5,113m.

The Sukkur Barrage with its 66 gates, which was built during the British era, has almost completed its life. Experts say the barrage can still deliver if it is rehabilitated, which would cost only Rs25 billion whereas the cost of construction of a new barrage would be around Rs100bn and could take eight to 12 years to complete.

This emerged at a briefing on reconstruction and rehabilitation of the Sukkur Barrage given by irrigation secretary Zaheer Hyder Shah to Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah during a meeting at CM House on Monday. The meeting was attended by senior minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, chief secretary Siddique Memon, finance secretary Sohail Rajput and relevant engineers and senior officers.

Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister termed rehabilitation of the barrage the need of the hour saying it contributed 30 per cent to the provincial agriculture GDP while 80 per cent of the provincial agriculture depended on the barrage. However, he said: “We would hold another meeting to take a decision. To protect the barrage is to protect the agriculture of Sindh”.

Earlier, briefing the meeting irrigation secretary Zaheer Hyder Shah said the Sukkur barrage was constructed on the Indus in 1923-32. Sedimentation problems started developing within two years of its construction. The permanent closure of 10 gates had formed an island and a submerged weir which had reduced the flood capacity of the barrage from 1.5 million to 900,000 cusec.

The irrigation secretary said that all the gates were replaced between 1986 and ‘92 and emergency repairs were carried out in 2004 when a large scour hole developed in the right pocket.

Replying to a query of the chief minister regarding the findings of a feasibility study, Zaheer Hyder Shah said that all the gates of the barrage were in a good condition except the five that needed to be replaced. Its pond level and freeboard below the gates also required to be increased. This would help open the gates to their maximum level.

He said that electrical work of the barrage needed to be replaced and a modern monitoring and control room might be established.

Talking about risk of failure for the existing barrage, the secretary said that the 2010 flood passed with a freeboard margin of just about two feet when the gates were opened completely. During high floods only 27 of the 66 barrage gates remained active, causing risky flow concentration in the central left part of the barrage.

He said 10 gates of the barrage were closed permanently between 1938 and ’46. As a result, an island developed in front of the closed gates. The large curvature of the existing outer bank cast a shadow on further 17 gates in passing of flood. The limited capacity for flood access into the left and right pockets restricted 12 more gates in passing of flood to their full capacity.

Replying to another question, he said rehabilitation of the barrage, which included repair of canal-head regulators, right pocket river training works, fish-pass and overflow weir in span 59, dredging works, electrical works, modernisation of monitoring and control instruments, construction of new buildings floor monitoring, control system, laboratory, workshops and other buildings would cost Rs25bn.

Talking about construction of a new barrage with the same dimensions as the existing barrage, he said that would cost Rs100bn, which would be four times the cost of the proposed rehabilitation while construction of the new barrage might take eight to 12 years.

Giving details of the importance of the Sukkur Barrage, the secretary said that it contributed 30 per cent to the GDP of provincial agriculture while there was 80pc agriculture dependence on the Sukkur Barrage. But in case of its failure, he said, there would be an eight million cusecs decline in irrigation water, 25pc reduction from Rs7,308m to Rs5,113m, in the provincial GDP. It would cause 5pc impact on the national economy and would affect a 26.4m population of the province.

Published in Dawn, September 29th , 2015

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