SUKKUR: Sukkur barrage and all its off-taking canals have been closed and river water has been released downstream for carrying out annual repairs and maintenance of the barrage and its canals, according to barrage control room.

The in-charge of the control room Haji Abdul Aziz Soomro said that in accordance with the schedule of the irrigation department and the directives of chief engineer, the barrage and its canals would remain closed for 15 days due to annual closure.

All the barrage gates were opened on the night of Jan 5 and the gates of off-taking canals, Rice Canal, Dadu Canal and Khirthar Canal were closed to let water flow downstream, he said.

He said the work on cleaning, colouring, oiling and greasing of the barrage gates and desilting and colouring of canals would be carried out from Jan 6 to Jan 20. After the conclusion of the repairs the barrage gates would be closed again on Jan 21, he said.

He said the Sukkur Municipal Corporation and the North Sindh Urban Services Corporation had already been informed about it and asked to make alternate arrangements for supplying water to citizens during the closure period.

Man crushed to death

An elderly man was crushed to death when a tractor ran over him on the embankment of Khirthar Canal on Friday.

Eyewitnesses told journalists that the way the accident happened suggested that the tractor driver was unskilled.

Relatives of the deceased Shah Mir Shaikh who was a resident of Agha Rafiq locality demanded action against the driver who was arrested by police soon after the accident.

Police also impounded the tractor which belonged to the North Sindh Urban Services Corporation.

Published in Dawn, January 7th, 2017