April 11, 2004

A critical component of Pakistan’s irrigation system is in a precaroius condition

What was once considered the best irrigation system in the world, is now a fast crumbling edifice of bureaucratic lethargy.

The icon in question is the 72-year-old Sukkur Barrage which irrigates no less than eight million acres of farmland in Sindh. A gift of British India, the Barrage is now on the verge of collapse due to the lack of wisdom of the present irrigation authorities. And the grave level of ignorance on part of the concerned authorities was displayed when it was only recently discovered that a pit, 100 feet in width and nine feet in depth, had endangered the piers of Gate 1 and 2. All of a sudden, engineers woke up and President Musharraf ordered the immediate fix of the Barrage. But that question that is being asked, is it too late to save Sukkur Barrage? For according to an irrigation expert, “The deterioration of the Barrage began not a month or year back, it has been going on for the past two decades.” And anyway, the Barrage is 22 years in grace period. For when it was made, the then British engineers estimated its life to be no more than 50 years.

The idea of a Barrage at its present site was floated in 1868, twenty-five years after Sindh had been conquered by the British. But experts in London rejected the proposed ‘Weir Controlled Project’, as it was labelled then. However, it was in 1919 that the Bombay Government ordered a Barrage at Sukkur. A high level committee was established which reviewed the feasibility at an emergency level.

Twenty projects spread over an area of three-miles were sanctioned for the Barrage. Work started on the whole project on June 9, 1923. Canals construction started during January 1925 and construction of Head-Works in October 1929. Finally, on January 13, 1932, Sukkur Barrage was inaugurated by the Governor of Bombay, George Lloyd.

The length of the Barrage between the regulator faces is 4725 feet. The over-all length of the Gate bridge with land spans and terminal tower at the end, is 4925 feet. The Barrage is situated at River Indus about 225 miles North East of Karachi. It irrigates a major part of Sindh, including the additional parts of Balochistan and NWFP.

During the British Raj, Sindh comprised of two states, Hyderabad and Khairpur. According to the 1931 census, both of them had a population of 3,887,070, spread on an area of 46944 square miles. Half of the land mass was dived into hills, mountains and deserts, while the other half was cultivable. The Barrage system was planned to help cultivate the land and generate the agri-economy of the area. The well-planned irrigation system helped the mighty Indus turn the once barren landscape into a green zone.

There are four canals on the Left Bank; Eastern Nara, Khaipur Feeder East, Rohri Canal and Khairpur Feeder West. At the same time the Right Bank is with three canals; North West Canal, Rice Canal and Dadu Canal.

In those days, technology wasn’t as forthcoming as it is now, the experts and engineers did their best and made Sukkur Barrage one of its kind. Sadly, today’s engineers have not been able to replicated the success of their predecessors. And now the worst has happened: the structure is crumbling.

But this is not the first time that the Barrage has faced its crises. Cracks had appeared in its Piers and Arches in 1948-49. The cracks were noticed and the then government took prompt action before any major catastrophe came into being. In 1952, again surface cracks in the arches were noticed and repair work was completed in 1954. The same repair work was done in 1964 as well.

According irrigation sources during the 1976 flood, authorities did structural work on Barrage which lasted till 1980. Since then, no rapair work has been done on the Barrage. Probably this is the reason why irrigation experts are now contending that the Barrage’s structural deterioration has reached at an alarming position.

Knowing fully well of Sukkur Barrage’s ill-health, irrigation authorities still prefer to remain dumb. The Barrage’s bridge had been used for heavy traffic for decades, which too affected the Barrage physically. At least this was taken care of in 1991 when an alternate bridge was being built for the heavy traffic. However, it was only after the national press rang the alarm bells, the action was taken.

A high level ‘technical committee’ under the supervision of Mr A.N.G. Abassi was constituted. After visiting the Barrage, the committee submitted its report saying that the Barrage needed prompt general structural repair. The report recommended that the two islands in Right Pocket and Left Pocket be removed which had damaged the Barrage Piers and Arches. Other than this, they (the islands in the river-belt) have also adversely affected the Gate Arches.

Experts contend that due to the lack of a proper scouring and guniting process, the Barrage’s structure has gradually deteriorated. The islands on its both pockets, Right and Left, have become a real threat to Barrage.

“There is a dire need to save the Barrage immediately in the light of report by the technical committee,” says Idris Rajput, former Secretary, Irrigation Department, Sindh.

Some irrigation experts maintain that because of the island, the Right Pocket couldn’t bear the flow of it gets usually. They maintain that the flow route to the Right Pocket Gates has become narrower which is causing whirl-pooling. It is because of this whirlpool, that the piers and arches have been effected gravely. However, the irrigation sources have feared the possibility of more ‘pits’ in the Barrage floor.

The Barrage is in danger right now. If serious steps aren’t taken immediately, then not only will the Sukkur Barrage be in danger but the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people too will be at risk. Let’s hope that the concerned authorities realize the gravity of the situation.

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