DADU, April 9: A team of the Federal Flood Commission (FFC) inspected the commission’s development works in Dadu district on Sunday. The chairman of the FFC, Mr Illahi Bux Shaikh, Chief Engineer Irrigation, Sukkur Barrage, Mohammad Nawaz Memon, Managing Director of SIDA, Manzoor Ahmed Shaikh, Superintending Engineer Western Circle Larkana, Ghulam Hyder Qureshi and the consultant of FFC Adam Khan visited the construction site of Nai Gaaj Nullah from RD-0 to RD-32.

Construction work is being carried out with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank. The Chairman of FFC directed the contractor to use standard material in the construction of Nai Gaaj Nullah and complete it by May 30.

On this occasion, contractor of Nai Gaj, Mehru Mal complained to the team that for three months his company had not received payment of bills, hence work could not be completed by May 30. The chairman FFC assured him that 80 per cent payment would be made to him within seven days.

The team members also visited ongoing work of Flood Protective Bund from RD-0 to RD-120. At RD-80 of F.P.Bund, Assistant Engineer, Habibullah Kabooro, informed the team that 90 per cent work of F.P.Bund was complete and 70 per cent payment was also made to the contractors while the remaining bills were being finalised. He informed the team that work on the 25-feet wide bund and 2.5 feet stone pitching on the same was going on. The chairman directed the executive engineer, southern division, to submit a feasibility report on the remaining portion of F.P.Bund to the commission where breaches had occurred in 1995 so that funds could be allocated.

Talking to a group of newsmen, the chairman of the FFC said that 32 breaches had occurred in the protective bund in Dadu district due to high flow in Nai Gaaj. He said that the area people had sustained a loss of millions of rupees. He said that with the support of an amended design, Nai Gaaj Nullah and Flood Protective Bund were being constructed. He said that army was also asked to monitor these projects.

RALLY: Activists of Sindh Peoples Youth Organisation (SPYO) and the Sindh People’s Students Federation (SPSF) took out a rally here on Sunday against registration of what they called bogus cases by NAB against PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari. They were led by district president SPYO, Mohammad Umer Panhwar and district secretary SPSF, Amir Bux Solangi. They demanded withdrawal of the cases which, they believed, were registered on political grounds.