SUKKUR, Sept 15: The repair of the Sukkur Barrage restarted here on Tuesday after a break of eight days as the staff of a private company hired for the work returned from Karachi and resumed core drilling.

Earlier, the MEW Private company had stopped the work because of non-payment of its dues amounting to Rs 25 million. According to the company sources, a cheque of the amount had been received by them after which the repair work had been resumed in full swing.

A team of 5-Engineer Corps from the Pano Aqil Cantonment visited the barrage on Monday and asked the company chief engineer to remove the heavy machinery, installed for filling cement and concrete into the cavities, 20 feet away from the barrage because when the machine ran, the entire barrage vibrated.

On Tuesday the company removed the machinery from the roadside of the barrage and installed it at a distance. The engineering experts, who are supervising the repair work, briefed Col Zaheeruddin Babar of the Engineer Corps about the progress of the work.

The army authorities directed the company engineers to carry on the work round the clock and complete it till Sept 20. They told the engineers that Gen Zubair of 5-Engineer Corps from the General Headquarters would visit the Sukkur Barrage on September 17 to see the progress and quality of the work.

10 ARRESTED: Police arrested 10 suspects following an encounter with outlaws in the Mohammad Khan Lolai village, Kandhkot, on Wednesday morning. A heavy contingent of police raided the village to arrest the outlaws.

On seeing the police party, the bandits opened fire, which was returned by police. The bandits escaped after two hours. Police conducted house-to- house search in the village, bulldozed six hideouts of the outlaws and arrested 10 suspects. Police declined to disclose names of the arrested people.