BAHAWALPUR: The floodwater from the overflowing river Sutlej has entered the low-lying areas of Basti Lal Kamal near the town of Chamb Kuliar in district Lodhran, damaging crops over thousands of acres.

The water level is rising in the river and it has already entered the Basti.

Basti Lal Kamal, located on right bank of the river, is known as the site where the plane of Gen Ziaul Haq had crashed on Aug 17, 1988. A road from Chamb Kuliar leads to it.

The Lodhran civil administration claimed that all the dykes and bunds in the area were intact, asking the people not to believe in rumors.

According to an official handout, Assistant Commissioner Ghulam Murtaza claimed that the administration was alert and ready to meet any emergency.

He said there were 24 relief camps in the district where all facilities for the affected people had been provided. He asked the people of the hit areas to shift to the relief camps and avail the facilities provided by the government.

Meanwhile, a meeting to review the Sutlej flood situation was held under the chairmanship of Lodhran deputy commissioner.

Kahrore Pucca Assistant Commissioner (AC) Ghulam Hussain informed the meeting that the administration was in control of the situation and it had taken measures to provide relief to the affected people.

The AC said that under Section 144, all sorts of human activities, including recreation and operation of private boats, were banned at the Pattan.

Lodhran AC Ashraf Saleh told Dawn by mobile phone that there was no cause for alarm as the floodwater had so far inundated only the Sutlej bed and low-lying areas of Basti Kamal from where the illegal land grabbers had already shifted to safer places.

He said three flood relief camps had been established at Khanpur Ghalwan, Sun Kuliar and Qureshiwali but they were still empty as no flood affectee had sought shelter there.

However, he added, the administration had forcibly evacuated 16 people from the riverbed to safer places.

In Bahawalpur, the district administration used heavy machinery to strengthen the protective dyke on the left bank of the river Sutlej.

In order to ensure steps to avoid any possible flood threat to the areas, Bahawalpur DC Zaheer Anwar Jappa and District Emergency Officer Baqir Hussain inspected the work at the dyke. The DC directed that the height of the dyke be raised to save the cultivated land and the population around Wasealan Basti.

Meanwhile, Dawn learnt that a private cultivator’s protective Zahoorwala bund in the Abbas Nagar near Magwani Pattan breached, submerging the fields and damaging the crops. According to DEO Baqir Hussain, the floodwater after damaging the crops would return to the river bed.

RALLY: A rally in connection with the Kashmir Exploitation Day was taken out from the DC office till the Farid Gate.

A large number of government officials, employees and students, including girls, civil society activists and religious people, led by DC Zaheer Anwar Jappa took part in the rally.

Published in Dawn, Aug 6th, 2023