SAHIWAL, April 24: The breach that had occurred on Monday morning in Montgomery-Pakpattan link canal (MP link canal) was finally plugged on Tuesday after a lapse of 34 hours.

The breach has caused the suspension of traffic on Sahiwal-Arifwala Road after the gushing water had washed away some 300-feet of a road stretch, creating some five feet deep pit as well.

Highway division XEN Amjad Raza said that efforts were being made to restore traffic with a temporary bridge which would likely to be completed within 10 days.

He said presently the traffic was diverted from Arifwala to Pakpattan.

Neeli Bar division XEN Muhammad Siddique said that a 50-feet wide breach had developed between RDs 68-69 of the left bank of the canal owing to the seepage of siphon.

He said the water discharge of about 1,000 cusecs, at the time of the breach, was diverted to the river Sukh Bias by breaking the siphon and closure of water from the LBDC head. The revenue authority, he said, would estimate the actual loss suffered in terms of standing crops and mud houses.

The chief engineer (irrigation) has constituted an inquiry team.

A spokesman of the agriculture department roughly estimated a loss to the tune of about Rs10 million.

The repair of the damaged siphon is a risky task on account of heavy water discharge in the canal. Besides, huge expenditures are also required for the reconstruction of the siphon to restore water in the MP link canal.