SUKKUR: Sindh Minister for Irriga­tion Jam Khan Shoro has said that gate No44 is being repaired at the site and the gate No47 will be replaced by a new one currently being built at Karachi Shipyard, which the irrigation department will get up till July 20.

The minister said at a crowded press conference at the barrage office after inspecting repairs works on Wednesday that the technical inquiry committee could co-opt member of relevant field to determine causes of damage to gates No44 and 47.

The irrigation department had already mobilised machinery to the barrage soon after June 20 to start restoration work so that water supplies to canals could be resumed during ongoing kharif season, he said.

“Initially, our engineers assessed they needed to remove both the damaged gates but later they learnt one gate [No44] could be repaired without removal. So, we kick-started work on building cofferdam at the barrage downstream gate No47,” he said.

A cofferdam is a watertight enclosure pumped dry to permit construction work below the waterline, as when building or repairing bridges or ships.

He said that 2,000 bags — each filled with 2.5 tons of soil — were needed to create the cofferdam downstream. “Major part of the structure has been built since its work had started on June 21 and now its strengthening process is under way,” he said.

He said that a caisson gate — large watertight chamber, open at the bottom, from which the water is kept out by air pressure and in which construction work may be carried out under water — would be placed upstream gate No.47.

He said that building of cofferdam in June amid heavy river discharges was a gigantic task, which had been achieved. Sindh irrigation department was submitting new indent to the Indus River System Authority as well, he said.

He said that gate No44 was being repaired at the site and the gate No47 would be replaced by a newer one which was currently being built by Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works. The irrigation department would get the gate by July 20, he added.

For canal water supplies, he disclosed, the department would now start raising pond level gradually to resume these supplies for kharif. An officer of chief engineer’s level was overseeing manufacturing process of gate No47 at the workshop, he said.

The minister said the Indus River flows usually hit gates No41 to 59 due to the water’s flow pattern observed over the years. A Chinese company got contract for the barrage’s gates in February 2023 under SBIP, he said.

He dismissed reports quoting exaggerated figures of cost of work under SBIP and said Rs4bn out of total cost of project i.e., Rs74bn, had been spent so far on ongoing rehabilitation work at Sukkur Barrage under the World Bank-funded Sindh Barrages Improvement Programme. Material for the replacement of 19 gates was being procured by the Chinese firm which would arrive soon, he said.

He said that he would not comment on quality of the gates replaced in 1992 and said gate No39 was damaged again in 2018, prompting the government launch this project to replace all the gates.

He said that silt deposits had increased in the Indus over the years whereas flows had dropped. Historically, he said, the river used to bring silt and with heavy flows it always flowed downstream.

“That’s why we [Sindh] demand water flows in April so that we provide water to canals and when flows increase ahead of flooding season the Indus river will carry this silt downstream.

But now we are supposed to provide water to canals in peak kharif season and resultantly this silt will go into canals which have been silted. Hence, pond level upstream has to be increased,” he said.

He said that work on pre-feasibility of new Sukkur barrage was also under way. Nara Canal was getting 11,000 cusecs of flows as of Wednesday while Rohri Canal was receiving 7,000 cusecs (50pc of its requirement). When pond level reached 195, canals would start getting sufficient quantum of water, he said.

The minister was accompanied by secretary of irrigation Zarif Khero, chief engineers Sohail Hameed Baloch, Mukhtiar Abro, Mansoor Memon and Pritam Das.

Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2024