May 20, 2003	Tuesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 17, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, May 19: The Federal Flood Commission (FFC) has said that the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) lacks equipment required to forecast flood in the Nullah Leh.

The annual meeting of the FFC was informed here on Monday that the PMD’s Islamabad office could only detect and monitor water level in rivers and streams but it could not exactly forecast the intensity of rainwater.

However, the PMD, Lahore, has latest technology to forecast the intensity of horizontal flow of water too.

It was agreed in the meeting that flood in the Nulla Leh had become a regular phenomenon and it created havoc almost every year during the monsoon rainy season.

The meeting suggested that the PMD should have sophisticated technology to forecast flood in Nulla Leh due to rains.

FLOOD MONITORING SYSTEM: The CDA has planned to install a flood monitoring system at Simly Dam.

The Rs7 million project is likely to be taken up in the next fiscal year.

A CDA official said that the system could monitor river water within an area of 25 km in the upstream of the dam. In case of a flood within an area of 25 km, the hooters would automatically start blowing, he added.

He said a control room would also be established at the CDA headquarters which would be linked with the system at the dam so that the concerned officials could also monitor the water level from the CDA office.

During the flood in 2001, the spillways of the Simly Dam were opened on the eleventh hour, which could be dangerous for those living in the low-lying areas, the official added.