LARKANA, Oct 4: Work on the Right Bank Outfall Drain (RBOD)-III passing near Shahdadkot was immediately stopped in the light of the preliminary report of a technical committee headed by Bashir Ahmed Dahar, Chairman Indus River System Authority (IRSA).

Speaking at a press conference flanked by Bashir Ahmed Dahar and Shuja Ahmed Junejo, Secretary Irrigation at President House Naudero on Saturday, MNA Faryal Talupr said that following the apprehensions of the people of Shahdadkot that the RBOD would submerge the town and ruin its fertile land a committee of experts drawn from Wapda and irrigation department was constituted.

It was assigned to undertake the study of the faulty design of the RBOD-III passing on the outskirts of Shahdadkot.

After series of meetings in Karachi and Islamabad, the committee on Saturday visited Shahdadkot and held detailed meeting with the people of Shahdadkot and also inspected the site.

Ms Faryal Talpur said that she would not compromise at the cost of public losses. She said that the experts had proposed to constitute a two-member committee of Chief Engineer Right Bank and Chief Engineer RBOD-III. The committee was entrusted to undertake fresh study of the alignment and find out appropriate alternate routes to construct the drain.

The chairman IRSA said that work at RD-116 of Khirthar Canal and RD-124 of Saifullah Magsi branch in the light of the apprehension of the area people was immediately halted. At these points the WAPDA had constructed two big siphons giving big cuts to the Khirthar Canal and Saifullah Magsi branch.

“I did not know how this project RBOD-III was okayed and cleared by ECNEC though it is faulty”, said the chairman IRSA. He said now realignment would be made by studying its financial and technical components.

He said that RBOD-III was started on the directives of the one of the former chief ministers of Balochistan to give way to the affluent water of the province. He said that the committee, after going through the preliminary studies, arrived at a conclusion, that alignment should be changed.

He said RBOD-III was a project of Rs1200 million stretched over 65 miles and so far Rs900 million had been spent and only work on 12 miles could be completed.

Replying to a question, Ms Faryal Talpur said that in view of the present situation another committee was constituted to undertake the fresh study of RBOD-I and II.

She said this committee would study the technicalities of the project in terms of discharge capacity and the alignment coupled with fears and apprehensions of the area people.

The committee that studied the RBOD-III consisted of Chairman IRSA Bashir Ahmed Dahar, Shuja Ahmed Junejo, Secretary Irrigation Sindh, Syed Ragib Abbas Shah, member (Water) Wapda, Idress Rajput former secretary irrigation, Chief Engineer Right Bank Agha Aijaz Pathan, Chief Engineers of RBOD-III Ghulam Qadir Bhutto and Shahnawaz Chandio.