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SUKKUR, April 23: Twenty-nine per cent shortage of water was recorded at the Sukkur Barrage on Friday due to which it is badly affecting early wheat and sugarcane crops.
The irrigation officials told this correspondent that the worst affected canal was the Nara canal, whose command area was used for early wheat crop and sugarcane crop, and added that in the area the wheat production target would not be achieved.
However, they claimed that, rainfall during the last two days in the upcountry had raised the water level in the River Indus in the Kalabagh area. According to them, last week 36,000 cusecs of water were recorded at Kalabagh, which touched the 90,000 cusecs mark on Friday.
Besides, they said the Punjab government had closed the Chesma-Jhelum Link Canal and the Taunsa-Panjnad Canal, which was expected to reduce the water shortage in Sindh. According to the irrigation officials, the increased quantity of water would reach Sindh in a week.
They said that pitching work at the Guddu Barrage was in progress therefore, the schedule for opening its off-taking canals had been delayed for 15 days. They said that it would also lead to an increase in water availibility at the Sukkur Barrage.
PROTEST: Police baton-charged the students, protesting against deployment of Rangers at intermediate examination centers, in front of the Government Degree College in Jacobabad on Friday morning.
As a result, Farhad Ali and several other students - most of them belonging to the Sindh Taraqqi Pasand Students Federation and Sindh People's Students Federation (SB) - were injured.
Later, a majority of the students boycotted the paper of Pakistan Studies.
bandit surrenders: A most-wanted and hardened outlaw, Ahmadoo Narejo, voluntarily surrendered himself before the Sukkur DPO on Thursday along with a KK rifle and was sent to prison.
The bandit belongs to the Faiz Mohammad Bhindo police station jurisdiction and is allegedly involved in dozens of heinous crimes. The Sindh IGP had earlier said those outlaws who surrendered voluntarily would be provided protection and not killed.
Police sources said on Wednesday night, encounters with the outlaws took place at Fattoo Pattan, Allah Dino Pattan and Hussain Beli which continued for an hour. Later, the police took hold of the Hussain Beli camp which was previously a hideout of the bandits. The police have cordoned off all exit points while ration supply line has already been cut off.
ARRESTS: The Sukkur police arrested some 14 persons in raids on three villages of the district on Thursday and declined to disclose their names.The police said raids were conducted in Nihal Khoso, Mujahid Khoso and Jeeand Khoso villages following information that some wanted criminals were hiding there and heroin was also being supplied from the area.
After the raid, the police conducted house-to-house search and arrested 14 suspected persons who were being interrogated.
