RAHIM YAR KHAN: Four breaches in different canals of the district after rain on Wednesday night inundated crops on hundreds of acres.

A 40-foot breach occurred in 3-R Canal near Chak 28 Abbasia of Liaqatpur tehsil, some 95 kms from here.

According to locals, they informed the irrigation department about the incident but no one came to plug the breach till morning. The water flowed into cotton and fodder fields, affecting more than 60 acres.

Early in the morning, people started plugging the breach on a self-help basis and later Rescue 1122 also joined them.

Locals said Khanpur irrigation EXEN Kamran was also called but he did not send staff on the spot.

Chief Engineer Khalid Bashir Chaudhry told Dawn that he had ordered a probe into the negligence and sent the RYK irrigation senior engineer for plugging the breach.

The second breach [50-foot] took place in Tranda Distributary near Chak 86-P in RYK tehsil as a result cotton crop on 100 acre land was submerged with water.

Locals called the irrigation staff but only a baildar came there to plug the breach. People started repair work on their own after dawn, but water flowed into neighbouring localities.

When contacted, EXEN Yasir Munir did not respond to the call of the correspondent.

In the third incident, Wah Faqeeran minor near ancient site Pattan Minara and Chak 108-P of RYK breached.

The 20-foot hole damaged sugarcane fields on a few acres. None of the irrigation staffers came there till 10am.

A 25-foot breach in Maluk Wah minor near Basti Jahangir of Jamaldin Wali in Sadiqabad tehsil affected nearby localities and cotton fields.

Published in Dawn, June 18th, 2021