LARKANA/SUKKUR: Up to 10 hours of torrential rains with brief pauses in Larkana and Qambar-Shahdadkot districts ravaged all utilities and caused heavy flooding, leaving municipalities totally helpless and confining most people to their houses on Saturday night and Sunday.

The upper Sindh districts of Sukkur, Jacobabad, Shikarpur, Ghotki and Kandhkot-Kashmore were pounded on Sunday again with the same intensity as was witnessed on Friday night and Saturday when, according to Sukkur Mayor Arsalan Islam Shaikh, 290mm of rain was recorded within 24 hours.

Prolonged power outages, drains and manholes oozing sewage, breakdown of telecommunication networks, inundation of roads and heavy flooding in lanes and streets appeared to be the serious issues that could not be addressed due to the bad weather conditions in all the rain-affected areas for the last 48 hours, media personnel reported from various district headquarters on Sunday evening.

Most of the electricity feeders tripped, trees uprooted, billboards fell down and water gushed into the houses in urban and rural areas alike. Municipal workers’ dewatering efforts failed due to lack of an adequate number machinery and equipment to deal with the huge volume of rainwater.

Fissures develop in Mohenjo Daro’s main stupa, parts of ancient site inundated

Local Met office recorded 123mm rain which started at 10pm on Saturday and continued till 7am Sunday. Jacobabad district received 104 mm, Thul 74mm, Qambar-Shahdadkot 59 mm, Warah 56mm, Bakrani 23mm and Dkori 23mm.

Sky remained heavily overcast in the Larkana division and the local Met office predicted more rains during Sunday night.

Mohenjo Daro partly affected

Reports from ancient site of Mohenjo Daro said that the relics of the Indus civilisation received 119mm rain in two spells. The rainwater accumulated in different areas of the site, particularly the DK area, while certain fissures were reported in the main stupa. In the measures taken immediately, rainwater was drained out from the structures and the fissures were filled and repaired. However, more labour was to be employed on Monday to flush out rainwater from the DK area, sources in the department said.

Health services crippled

The rain water severely affected Chandka Medical College Teaching Hospital and its city block where the administration’s efforts failed to flush out rainwater due to absence of proper drainage system.

Power supply in Larkana remained suspended for 24 hours which aggravated the situation, said the CMCH medical superintendent on hospital side. Rainwater gushed into the main electric switch room at the CMC Teaching Hospital blocking electricians’ access to it for repair work.

Flooding also forced the police to leave the Civil Lines police station building while officers’ club and other government buildings, residential colonies were also surrounded by deluges.

Larkana Mayor Anwar Luhar tried to inspect and supervise dewatering and other efforts but situation remained out of municipality’s control till late Sunday evening. Patients and their attendants were seen struggling with accumulated rainwater and sewage in their attempt to enter the eye block, NICVD, surgery ward and even the casualty department.

Reports from Qambar-Shahdadkot say it rained for about 10 hours badly affecting the routine life amid prolonged power outages and heavy flooding across the district.

Casualties

A 35-year-old man, Ayaz Bugti, died and two other persons, Muzaffar Bugti and Khalid Bugti, were injured when the roof of a cattle pen fell on them during the downpour in the Rahim Bugti village on the outskirts of Larkana city. In another incident, Arbab Shaikh, a labourer, and his son, Asad Ali, were injured when the roof of their house in Ambh Shaikh village in Bakrani town collapsed. They were taken to the CMCH where Arbab Shaikh succumbed to his injuries.

In Yar Mohammed Colony of Larkana city, Jawad Chandio drowned in a pond of rainwater. A nine-year-old boy, Mudassir Surhiyo, was electrocuted while trying to switch on electric motor in his house on Bakrani road.

In Shikarpur, a man identified as Wahid Bakhsh Bhayo, a resident of Hajano village, was killed when lightning struck the area.

All routine business, trade and commercial activities remained suspended on Sunday for a second consecutive day due to heavy flooding in all district headquarters of upper Sindh. Flooding in rural areas also aggravated due to more rainfall. Vehicular traffic also remained off the road.

People of all districts were facing an acute shortage of drinking water as pumping stations remained without electricity.

Sukkur mayor hopeful of normality soon

Sukkur Mayor Barrister Arsalan Islam Sheikh has described the Friday-Saturday spells of rains in the district as “record-breaking stormy rains in the history of Sukkur”, pointing out that “290mm of rainfall was recorded in just a single day as compared to the unprecedented downpour of 2022 when 374mm of rain was recorded over 12 days”.

In a statement issued on Sunday, he said the process of dewatering in Sukkur city was under way and 80pc areas had been cleared of rainwater. He hoped that the remaining areas would be cleared with the next few hours to bring the situation back to normal.

Meanwhile, four employees posted in the mobile pumping station at Sukkur Barrage were suspended over alleged negligence. Some other employees were booked at a police station for allegedly stealing diesel and a battery from the Shalimar pumping station.

Shaheed Benazirabad, Naushahro Feroze and Sanghar districts also continued to receive more spells of moderate rains on Sunday.

Flooding hit urban and rural areas of the three districts causing breakdown of electricity, drainage, water supply and road communication systems.

Rainwater entered houses in low-lying lanes and blocked movement of people and vehicles.

Caravans of villagers were seen moving out of their affected areas to reach safe places as water level in the Indus and its tributaries was rising. There were reports of deluges destroying wheat stocks kept in food department’s godowns in Naushahro Feroze and Moro towns.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2024