LARKANA: In the wake of recently aired forecast of more than usual rainfall during the upcoming monsoon, Larkana Commissioner Ghulam Mustafa Phull has informed Irrigation Secretary Zarif Khero about imminent threat of widespread devastation in Qambar-Shahdadkot district.

Speaking to Dawn, the commissioner acknowledged that he had forwarded Qambar-Shahdadkot deputy commissioner’s June 12 letter addressed to the chief secretary in this regard.

In his letter, the DC has warned the authorities concerned that the predicted volume and intensity of rainfall would not only batter this district again, but would also undo the emergency repair and rehabilitation works carried out after the 2022 calamity. He referred to the unprecedented downpour and flooding that had caused heavy damage to the Qambar-Shahdadkot sections of the Right Bank Outfall Drain (RBOD-I & III), besides heavy loss of life and property in this and other districts of Sindh.

Five vulnerable points identified

“While the entire project of MNVD [Main Nara Valley Drain] extension/RBOD-I needs to be rehabilitated and repaired and the fate of the proposed PC-I is yet to be decided, it is requested that five vulnerable points may be repaired/restored on a most urgent basis as time may be slipping out fast from our hands. Delay may result in huge loss to the infrastructure of this district, which is already struggling [to recover] from the losses it had suffered from the previous calamity,” the warned. He has also attached pictures of the vulnerable sites with his letter to the chief secretary.

DC seeks immediate rehabilitation of RBOD’s vulnerable sections to save district from imminent calamity

He recalled that the 2022 unprecedented downpour along with hill torrents had played havoc with the infrastructure of RBOD-I (MNV drain extension) and RBOD-III which, he said, had further been weakened by the ensuing breaches as well as the cuts applied to the Flood Protective Bund (F.P. Bund) and the drain’s infrastructure.

The already weakened F.P. Bund might not withstand the expected heavy pressure of downpour and floodwater and might cause unprecedented damage to the district, he apprehended.

Gravity of situation discussed

Earlier, on June 5, the District Disaster Management Authority had also held a meeting to take stock of the situation with reference to the reported gravity of the situation. MNA Mir Aamir Khan Magsi also attended the meeting.

A visit to the MNVD extension, RBOD-I & III, was undertaken on June 12 by the Project Director Abdul Aziz Jamali, Sukkur Wapda chief engineer (water) and drains project directors in upper Sindh districts. The DC said in his letter that the situation on the ground was “no less than startling”.

He said that the inspection path embankments at RD-89, RD-93 and RD-65 were washed away in the breaches following the 2022 flood while cuts were applied to insert illegal pipes at RD-126 and RD-119 which also caused serious damage the drain’s infrastructure.

Federal authorities urged to act now

The DC, citing the June 4 letter from the Wapda member (water) and addressed to the federal water resources secretary, said that the matter of restoration and rehabilitation of RBOD-I & III was under active consideration and the Sindh chief secretary was informed of such correspondence. The DC expressed his concern over the situation where the relevant PC-I had been pending approval for long with the ministry of water resources.

He said that the upcoming monsoon was being predicted as hard-hitting and the people of the area [Qambar-Shahdadkot] were apprehending the worst if the restoration work was not carried out without further loss of time.

The Wapda member (water) in his letter to the ministry of water resources has called for soliciting approval of the PC-I amounting to around Rs8.33 billion. He has noted that Wapda had completed the RBOD-I & III projects in 2020 and 2021, respectively, and subsequently completed works of RBOD-III project’s Balochistan side which was handed over to that province for further operation and maintenance. Sindh’s irrigation department did not finalise the handing over and taking over of the process of RBOD-I & III projects until June 2022 although they were completed, the letter noted.

It observed that the 2022 rains and flood had severely affected the completed works of the projects and Wapda took all necessary measures by spending Rs65.59 million on flood emergency works. “The Sindh government had regretted to refund the expenditure on the pretext that works were not taken over,” the letter said. After carrying out a joint flood assessment by Wapda and the Sindh irrigation department, the PC-I was processed for approval but it was still under process by the ministry of water resources, it said.

It apprehended that climate change effects such as extreme rainfall and floods could badly hit the already affected drainage works of these projects.

It urged the ministry to take immediate action for the approval of the PC-I to prevent any loss of life and damage to infrastructure during the forthcoming monsoon. The project should also be handed over to the Sindh irrigation department, the letter stressed.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2024