HYDERABAD: The Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority (Sida) has identified over 31,000 properties that exist as encroachments within the jurisdiction of three area water boards (AWBs) of the authority in the province.

These encroachments would be dismantled in line with the orders of the Sindh High Court, it said.

Sida announced on Sunday that an operation had been started to demolish those encroachments after a proper survey. The authority said the survey was conducted in the areas of Nara, Left Bank and Ghotki Feeder area water boards.

According to the survey conducted, 12,142 residential and commercial buildings exist in the area of Nara Canal AWB.

Various big and smaller water channels are part of Nara canal while Sida controls three AWBs in Sindh’s irrigation system along three main off-taking canals of Guddu barrage (Ghotki Feeder), Sukkur barrage (Nara canal) and Kotri barrage (Akram Wah and new Phulelli canals).

Besides 12,142 encroachments in Nara canal AWB, 15,542 encroachments in the shape of residential and commercial buildings exist in the area of Left Bank canals AWB which is the highest number of encroachments so far identified in the Sida-run area.

In Ghotki Feeder AWB, 4,166 illegal residential and commercial buildings are located.

So far 2,544 encroachments had been demolished in Nara canal AWB, 3,072 in Left Bank canals AWB and 184 in Ghotki Feeder AWB, it said.

Published in Dawn, February 15th, 2021