MUZAFFARGARH: With excessive rains ongoing across the country, low to medium floods are expected in the River Indus in Muzaffargarh.

Already, a low-level flood in the Indus has eroded hundreds of acres in land erosion in Muzaffargarh areas.

The irrigation officials said they were helpless in front of the erosion phenomena and called it a natural disaster.

More than 200,000 cuescs water inflow was recorded at the Indus at Head Taunsa Barrage while the irrigation officials were expecting a medium flood if the rains system got stronger in the coming days.

Talking to Dawn, Irrigation Superintendent Engineer Ashraf Bhatti said the department had fully worked on spurs and embankments to save areas from flooding. On the other hand, more than dozen villages along the river on eastern side have been facing the threat of erosion in recent weeks.

Residents said that on a daily basis, dozens of acres and mango orchards were being eaten up by the river. They said they appealed to irrigation officials for the construction of spur along their villages but in vain.

Ghulam Rasool Chandia, of Head Bakaini, and Mohammad Yaseen, of Bait Cheenwala, said their 10 acre each had become part of the river. They said they had been cultivating land for decades and had grown mango orchards there. They said they had abandoned their houses because the river was fast approaching them. No public official provided them with food and fodder.

Over the years flood has been hitting these areas and after every flooding residents become prosper because of more fertility of land in the post-flood crop. But the land loss in erosion is never compensated.

In Bait Cheenwala, Lundi Pittafi and Head Bakaini areas, erosion was in full swing.

When contacted, irrigation executive engineer Ghulam Rabbani said on the direction of the department and the district administration, he and his team had set up flood relief camps in the affected areas.

A senior irrigation offiicial said that already National Accountability Bureau teams were checking the previous works done by officials and contractors in Chandar Bhaan and Sarki spurs.

The Muzaffargarh executive engineer said a scheme had been approved for these areas to tackle erosion and soon the department would construct the spurs along the River Indus. He said there was no threat of flood and erosion in the Chenab.

Published in Dawn, August 23rd, 2020