DADU: Two women and a boy were carried away by strong currents and drowned to death in a natural stormwater drain, Nai Nali, which was flowing to the brim, like all other drains in the area, after heavy rain across Khirthar range of mountains and Kachho on Wednesday.

The rain raised level of the major stormwater drain, Nai Gaaj Nullah, to 25 feet and caused Nai Nali and eight other nullahs to overtop at many places, disconnecting land link of 300 villages with Johi town and flooding five main roads and 50 link roads.

The two women identified as Bano Malookani and Kazbano Leghari were carried away while they were trying to fetch drinking water from Nai Nali near Chapar Jamali village. The bodies were later taken out by villagers. The boy identified as Qadan Leghari also drowned in Nai Nali but his body was not found.

Floodwaters entered degree college and police station in Wahi Pandhi and inundated several areas of the town. ”People face hardship as main roads of Johi-Wahi, Johi-Tando Rahim Khan, Johi-Chhinni, Johi-Gaji Shah and Johi-Baid have been flooded,” said Anwar Leghari, a resident of Qasibo village in Kachho.

“No one has arrived yet to help the marooned villagers as floodwater has entered houses and washed away cattle, stocked grain and costly valuables,” said Shahmir Loond.

They needed boats to rescue people in Chhinni, Sawaro, Drigh Bala, Wahi Pandhi, Tando Rahim Khan and Pat Gul Mohammad union councils, said Nazeer Ahmed Leghari, a resident of Pat Gul Mohammad. Many mud-thatched houses in the five union councils had collapsed, said Amin Rodhnani in UC Chhinni.

Sukkur barrage chief engineer Irshad Ali Memon who has set up a camp on FP dyke at Haji Khan Mori near Johi said that water level was reducing in Nai Gaaj Nullah. All parts of the FP dyke were safe as rainwater was moving towards Manchhar Lake, he added.

He said that level of water in the lake had reached 113 feet RL. The officials concerned continued patrolling along the dyke to keep watch over the rainwater of hill torrents which had damaged some small dams at three places in Kachho.

Rain emergency in Dadu

Dadu Deputy Commissioner Raja Shahzaman Khuhro has declared rain emergency in the district in the wake of continuous heavy rain and warned that the dowpour in Khirthar range could cause flooding in many areas.

In Dadu, rainwater flooded main roads and streets and entered houses, government offices while officials of city and taluka municipal administration and district administration nowhere to be seen.

Likewise, the rain inundated low-lying areas in Mehar, Khairpur Nathan Shah, Johi, Radhan, Thrariri Mohabbat, Jamshoro, Sehwan, Bhan Syedabad, Sann, Kotri and Nooriabad and submerged parts of Indus Highway on Dadu-Sehwan and Sehwan-Jamshoro sections.

The rainwater caused level of water in Nai Sann and Nai Baran near Thana Bula Khan to rise to 20 feet, inundating 50 villages along the drains’ embankments.

All low-lying areas in the University of Sindh, the Mehran University of Engineering and Technology and the Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences were flooded.

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2020