HYDERABAD: A day after removing Sukkur Barrage executive engineer Ali Shah, a BS-18 officer, and assistant executive engineer Ameer Bux Mahar, a BS-17 officer, Sindh government on Friday also removed Chief Engineer Sukkur Barrage Sohail Hameed Baloch as a technical inquiry into the June 20 damage to seven gates of the barrage is continuing.

Mr Baloch, the CE Left Bank Region, has been asked to report to the irrigation department. Mansoor Memon, the CE Development Region-I, has been given the additional look-after charge of Sukkur Barrage. He is also a member of the technical inquiry committee.

It is learnt that a summary for the removal of Superintending Engineer Fayyaz Shah has also been moved to the chief secretary for approval. He is a BS-19 officer.

The summary for the removal of CE Sohail Baloch, a BS-20 officer, was moved by the irrigation minister.

Executive engineer and assistant executive engineer were removed a day earlier

Mr Baloch was given full-fledged charge of the CE Left Bank Region on April 25. He had been working as the CE Right Bank Region since Dec 2023 when he was given additional charge of the post on Jan 2, 2024 after the then CE of the left bank region, Syed Sardar Shah, was suspended for 90 days by the then caretaker chief minister on the recommendation of caretaker irrigation minister Ishwar Lal over “misconduct and inefficiency” in the rehabilitation work of Johi branch (Kali Mori) aqueduct.

Then Kotri Barrage CE Haji Khan Jamali, on the caretaker minister’s directives, had submitted inspection report of Johi branch aqueduct’s collapse soon after repair works.

While approving suspension of then CE Sukkur Barrage, then superintending engineer Riaz Bhurgari and executive engineer Bal Ram, the caretaker CM had asked the irrigation department to propose a panel of three officers so that one of them may be picked for the post of chief engineer. Names of Sohail Baloch, Pritam Das and Riaz Shah were proposed and the CM picked Sohail Baloch for the posting.

Later, Mukhtiar Abro was appointed as the CE Right Bank Region on April 25 and Mr Baloch was posted as the CE Left Bank Region. Administratively, Sukkur Barrage falls in the domain of CE Left Bank Region while the CE Right Bank Region sits in Larkana and is concerned with the management of three main canals -- North Western (NW) Canal, Rice Canal and Dadu Canal.

Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2024