MUZAFFARGARH: The district government once again issued a high-alert flood warning on Sunday when the water in the Indus river rose to 500,000 cusec, which is likely to reach 700,000 within a day or two after the addition of gushing hill torrent floods to the river in Muzaffargarh areas.

On Saturday night, some evacuation announcements were made in the Kot Addu city and nearby areas by private people.

On Sunday, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Ali Annan Qamar with MPA Ashraf Rind visited the Abbas Wala dyke where the flood water is consistently rising. Talking to the media, the DC denied issuing evacuation alerts for the residents of the Kot Addu city, calling them fake.

He, however, confirmed issuing flood warnings in the wake of a flood of the hill torrents heading to the river. He said his administration had completed evacuation from the river belt and the situation would remain critical till Aug 26.

He said the Kot Addu city was safe. MPA Rind claimed that his PTI government had installed pile sheets along the river at the Abbas Wala embankment where the river was upstream. He said that the project cost Rs1.75 billion.

In 2010, when the Abbas Wala embankment developed a breach, 689 villages were affected by super floods and mostly the area had been evacuated.

Irrigation officials said the water was rising at Abbas Wala and if the level does not recede, the dyke may develop seepage which will be dangerous. The deputy commissioner visited the flood relief camps and talked with doctors and camp residents.

He said the cotton crop in Muzaffargarh’s thousands of acres had been damaged by rains and in this regard, a survey had been launched and farmers would be compensated. He said some families were still in the flooded areas because of their cattle heads, but and his teams were trying to evacuate them.

DPO Ahmad Nawaz Shah said he had declared their riverine police check posts as flood relief camps where police officials with boats were ready to help the people.

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2022