SUKKUR, Aug 2: The chief engineer, Guddu Barrage, on Monday said a ditch that had developed in the barrage had been repaired.

The official, Jawed Tabbani, told this correspondent by telephone that traffic had been suspended after a trailer had stuck in the ditch in the barrage between gates 12 and 13.

The five-foot ditch had led to a traffic jam for about three hours. The trailer was pulled out with the help of heavy jacks after which the traffic was restored. Meanwhile, irrigation authorities announced a rotation programme for canals originating from the Guddu Barrage, Sukkur Barrage and the Kotri Barrage due to the persistent shortage of water.

On Monday, water flow at upstream Guddu Barrage was recorded 147,785 cusecs and at downstream 117,803 cusecs, at Sukkur Barrage upstream, water flow was 990,040 cusecs and at downstream 39,890 cusecs and at Kotri Barrage upstream, water flow was 37,241 cusecs.

In canals of the Guddu Barrage, 29,982 cusecs of water is being released, 59,150 cusecs of water is being released in canals of the Sukkur Barrage, and 38,841 cusecs in Kotri Barrage canals.

PROTEST ENDED: A man, Saindad Lashari, his wife, Shana, and four children, Zamir, Shaista, Zulfiqar and Sasui, ended their hunger strike on Monday evening after the deputy IGP, Sukkur, Ramzan Channa, assured them of justice.

They were on hunger strike for one week against alleged atrocities of the Rustam police, who had arrested Mr Lashari's two sons, Ehsan Lashari and Liaqat Lashari, in a karo-kari case and kept them at an undisclosed place. The condition of Ms Shana and the four children is to be critical.

ARRESTED: A contingent of the Larkana police conducted a raid on the Chingi graveyard near Shikarpur on Monday and arrested Abdul Ghaffar and Ghulam Akbar. The raid was conducted after an information that Santosh Kumar, a businessman kidnapped from Larkana on July 4, was kept in the graveyard.

The arrested persons are relatives of Ameen Shaikh, Abdul Jabbar Shaikh, Dadu Shaikh and Abdul Hameed Shaikh, who according to the police, are involved in the kidnapping.