HYDERABAD: With Gu­ddu and Sukkur barrages at medium flood level, a normal sign during monsoon season, Kotri Barrage receiving usual flows and Tarbela and Mangla dams having enough capacity to store more water, the functionaries responsible for monitoring flood situation in Sindh are not worried by the news of unannounced water releases by India.

Tarbela Dam has not attained its optimum storage level of 1,550ft while its flows up and downstream are already dropping with the dam’s current storage level at 1,549.44ft, and Mangla Dam still has room for storing 1,240ft water, causing little worry in Sindh from “pre-schedule” Indian water releases.

Tarbela’s outflows, according to Sukkur Barrage control room, are said to have dropped to 150,000 cusecs by 6pm Monday. They were 207,900 cusecs at 6am on Monday while Mangla’ storage stood at 1,213.65ft at 6am.

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) director general Salman Shah told Dawn that he was in constant touch with his Punjab counterpart and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to assess flood situation in the wake of sudden release of water by India.

Sindh chief minister’s special assistant for irrigation Ashfaq Memon said that actually India was not officially sharing flood situation but provincial government was using other resources to determine actual quantum of water flows that had to fall in the Indus River.

By Tuesday afternoon, he said, the situation would get quite clear. He expected that flows would be reaching after some delay and would be scattered.

Salman Shah said that Punjab PDMA’s assessment was that impact of Indian water would be absorbed in Sutlej because the river was dry.

“We have so far [seen] media reports that around 240,000 cusecs have arrived from India,” he said and added that such quantum of water was expected to reach Ganda Singh Wala in Punjab on Tuesday afternoon.

In view of Punjab PDMA’s estimations, he said, Indus River was unlikely to receive much of the floodwater and whatever impact it would have had would remain confined up to Bahawalpur district. “Sindh’s barrages will have normal flood situation,” said Mr Shah.

Floodwater information from Sukkur Barrage showed that Guddu and Sukkur are in a state of medium flood. Guddu’s water level was 409,179 cusecs upstream and 368,529 cusecs downstream whereas Sukkur’s water level was 353,287 cusecs upstream and 294,162 cusecs downstream at 6am as on Monday after withdrawal of water for their respective canals that are 11, in all.

The soil erosion is reported on the right bank of Guddu Barrage downstream at Kashmore-Kandhkot (KK) bund.

Flood fighting at Abad bund near the archaeological site of Moenjodaro and Hakra bund Sukkur Barrage downstream on its right bank is under way as according to the chief engineer of right bank of Sukkur Barrage, Saeed Jagirani, some action was reported on Eid day.

Another erosion has been reported near Hala on left bank of Indus upstream Kotri. “It is the river’s normal behaviour during floods and it attacks dyke when having increased flows,” said a Kotri Barrage official.

The Indus water has inundated much of riverine area damaging summer crops that were sown by katcha dwellers. However, it has not touched right and left sides of bund.

Water flows downstream Kotri are a positive sign for population living downstream Kotri as it will lead to an increase in fish population, rekindling fishermen’s hopes to catch famous palla species of fish that is mostly available up to Kotri.

The increased river flows that go into sea in Thatta are considered important for checking sea intrusion that has swallowed up large swathes of fertile agriculture land in Badin, Sujawal and Thatta districts.

“Erosion of dykes is a normal behaviour of the river. Katcha area is not yet completely submerged downstream Guddu Barrage although 50pc of cotton crop sown in the riverine area has been damaged. Some islands located on elevated surface in riverbed are not yet submerged completely,” said Guddu Barrage chief engineer Ishaq Abbasi.

The situation of Kotri Barrage remained normal with 193,517 and 163,737 cusecs up and downstream flows respectively. Post-Kotri, the Indus takes floodwater to the Arabian Sea.

Guddu Barrage has a designed discharge of 1.2m cusecs and Sukkur 0.9m cusecs (after closure of 10 gates of the barrage). Kotri Barrage’s designed discharge is 875,000 cusecs. During super floods in 2010, Guddu had received 1,145,738 cusecs upstream and 1,148,200 cusecs downstream on Aug 8; Sukkur had received 1,130,995 cusecs upstream and passed 1,108,795 cusecs downstream two days later on Aug 10, while Kotri had received 964,897 cusecs and had passed 939,442 cusecs on Aug 27.

The massive flows had caused a breach at Kot Almo downstream Kotri after a major breach at Tori dyke downstream Guddu Barrage, which had played havoc with eight districts on the right bank of the river, causing displacement of millions of people.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2019