LARKANA, Aug 9 The irrigation department has declared emergency along Abad Mungli embankment close to the Larkana-Khairpur bridge and asked the National Highway Authority to construct two J-type spurs within 24 hours else it would be solely responsible for any damage to the embankment.

Chief Engineer Sukkur Barrage Right Bank Agha Aijaz said on Monday while briefing Sindh Law Minister Ayaz Soomro on flood situation that he had also asked the district coordination officer of Larkana to declare emergency at this point.

He said that the NHA had not yet constructed two J-type spurs, which should have been built prior to construction of the bridge. Only one J-spur had so far been built, which might wash away the Abad Mungli bund if it was damaged due to rise in water flow, he feared.

The member of NHA, chief engineer irrigation, general manager construction, general manager of Larkana-Khairpur bridge and the DCO had a marathon meeting to assess the flood situation, he said.

He said the NHA was asked to raise spurs by 5 to 6 feet. Currently, the super flood was passing Larkana and a 6 to 7 feet rise was expected in the coming days, he said.

He told the minister that there was no threat to the bridge but added in the same breath that naturally, the pressure would mount with rise in water level.

The NHA has started constructing new spurs at the eleventh hour with water rising constantly.

About vulnerability of Akil Agani loop embankments, the chief engineer said that they were fully armoured and ruled out any threat of erosion.

Replying to a question, he said that 20,000 cusecs of water was released into Nara Canal and 40,000 cusecs into Rice Canal and other canals to release pressure on Sukkur Barrage and it brought down flow from 1,142,000 cusecs to 1,089,000 cusecs.

He said that nine foot water in Nai Gaj in Dadu also created a serious situation but the irrigation officials were busy looking after that area as well.

MNA Faryal Talpur talked to the chief engineer and asked him to report her the flood situation every four hours.

Meanwhile, Larkana DCO Hassan Naqvi imposed section 144 to ban gathering of people and vehicles at Larkana-Khairpur bridge and Abad flood protective dyke and swimming and diving in the river for seven days.

He said that the agencies busy in taking necessary preventive measures were experiencing difficulty due to presence of visitors.

Minister Ayaz Soomro feared eruption of gastroenteritis during flood and called for taking effective measures to combat the situation.

The DCO said the peak flow would completely pass Larkana by Aug 13. Rangers was patrolling the embankments and preventing people from gathering at Akil, Agani loop embankments.

Activists of PPP, Khaksar Tehrik, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology, KTN and other organisations have set up camps in the city to collect aid and donations for the flood-hit people.