DADU: Rescue teams could not reach several thousand men, women and children marooned within their inundated villages — around 300 — across the Kachho belt in the west of Dadu although Pakistan Army personnel have been continuing rescue and relief operation in the area for many days to assist the district administration.

Over 200 people have been rescued and taken to safe places by the army personnel while many more have been brought to safety by the district administration and union councils of the affected areas so far.

However, during a visit to different UCs by boat this reporter and a group of journalists and social activists on Saturday found that several thousand marooned people could not be reached by rescuers.

The worst-hit families among them appeared to be residents of some 200 villages which had been swept away by hill torrents from Khirthar mountainous range and the torrential rains that pounded the entire region more than a week ago and continued for several days. Some 700 houses have been extensively damaged by the deluge forcing their inhabitants to move to safe areas along with their belongings and cattle. A few thousands have managed to reach dry lands and nearby towns but thousands more are waiting for rescue teams to help them move out of their villages.

Since they have passed many days without getting any assistance, they have run out of food and drinking water, besides essentially required commodities. While all roads linking their villages to Johi and other towns have submerged, the telecommunication system in the entire region has collapsed. This has rendered the affected people totally disconnected from outside world.

Several days have passed after the rainfall stopped in the area but hill torrents getting heavier with the accumulated rainwater all along its course have been flowing into drains and reservoirs including Nai Gaaj, Nai Nali, Nai Tore, Nai Sori, Nai Angai, Nai Takai and Nai Kukrani without any break over the last five days. The flows have given inhabitants of around 300 villages of 10 UCs — Pat Gul Mohammad, Drigh Bala, Wahi Pandhi, Sawaro, Chhinni, Kamal Khan, TR Khan, Johi-1, Qasibo and Shah Hassan — no chance to move to safety. “The families have no access to any place where they could get food, water and medicines from. Their very survival is doubtful,” said activists of various NGOs visiting the area.

According to a villager, Ahmed Khan Jamali, 50 houses in the village vanished when Nai Nali changed its course and turned to this village.

“The displaced families and those rendered homeless due to the flooding in the Chhapar Jamali village of Wahi Pandhi have been waiting for rescue teams and relief goods since Aug 25,” another activist quoted the villagers as saying.

Meanwhile, some families who had lost their loved ones in flooding succeeded in finding the bodies. The victims included 38-year-old Kazbano, wife of Pahar and the couple’s nephew, Qadan Leghari. The family lived in Bodo village, some two kilometres from Wahi Pandhi town. A third victim was 22-year-old Habibullah Leghari who drowned yesterday (Friday) and the fourth one was Maulvi Abdul Aziz Rodhnani who was swept away by floodwater flowing into the Nai Gaaj nullah. He was a resident of Sawaro union council.

Mushtaq Rodhnani, another resident of the village, said that 50 villages of his UC including Fatah Brohi, Chhidi, Shafi Mohammad Loond, Moosa Jamali, Bahawal Babar, Jam Babar, Abbas Loond and Mohabbat Qambrani could not be reached by rescue and relief teams so far. “The marooned families desperately need food, drinking water and medicines,” he said.

Sehwan taluka areas under flooding threat

One of the watergates regulating flows from Manchhar Lake into Danister Canal, that takes the lake water to Indus river, finally gave way to mounting pressure due to constant rise in the lake level on Saturday, heightening fears of breaches in the canal dykes and inundation of vast areas in the lake’s vicinity, including Bubak and Sehwan.

The personnel of irrigation department led by chief engineers Irshad Ali Memon and Moinuddin Mughal are making frenetic efforts to control flow of water seeping through the broken watergate and gushing towards the river.

Memon told this reporter that the watergates were old and rusted and they had to be replaced. New gates had arrived at the lake for replacement but before it could have been done the pressure of water damaged a gate and water began to seep through it into the Danister Canal and towards the river.

He said the flow through the broken gate was between 300 to 350 cusecs and irrigation officials were dumping stones into it to plug it. It was, however, quite normal and posed no threat to the area if Danister Canal dykes were safe, he said.

Team leader Mohiuddin said that water level in the lake had dropped to 116.9 feet RL from 117 after reduction in Nai Gaaj Nullah flows into the lake. All machinery and staff of irrigation were working and hopefully the water flowing through the broken gate would be brought under control, he said.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2020