July 09, 2007	Monday	Jamadi-us-Sani 23, 1428

DADU, July 8: The Right Bank Outfall Drain (RBOD) developed two breaches at Kando Wah and Haji Wah villages of Mehar taluka near Zero Point inundating 30 more villages on Sunday.

Reports reaching here said that the level of floodwater in the RBOD and Main Nara Valley (MNV) drain had risen to over top point at a number of places.

The inundated villages include Bachara Machhi, Nandho Thaith, Wado Thaith, Dhamrah Saeedpur and Faiz Chandio where some 25,000 people have been displaced.

The floodwater now headed towards others areas of Mehar taluka and was near Dhamrah Wah where the personnel of irrigation department were busy repairing the embankment to help it sustain the pressure.

With no government help in sight people in the flooded villages are shifting their families to safer places on self-help basis. Many have assembled at Dhamrah Wah embankment and wait for official help in their makeshift tents. They face acute shortage of food. The hill torrents from Balochistan mountains have mounted pressure on the flood protective embankment in the western parts of Khairpur Nathan Shah.

A villager, Allah Wasayo Chandio of Saeedpur, told Dawn that standing crops on hundreds of acres and hundreds of houses had been inundated due to the breach. They did not receive any help from the government, he complained.

Federal Minister for Water and Power Liaquat Ali Jatoi who visited some of the breached points of the RBOD and MNV drain told journalists that the discharge capacity of MNV drain was 2,500 to 3,000 cusec while at present it was swelling with 12,000 to 14,000 cusec water flowing into it from Balochistan. He had been in the area for 10 days, he said.

Provincial Irrigation Secretary Shuja Ahmed Junejo said that the situation might continue for a month after which the pressure would start receding.

He said that the MNV drain flowed into Manchhar Lake and the authorities concerned kept releasing water from the lake into the River Indus to maintain its level within safe limits.