NAWABSHAH, Aug 8: The Nawabshah district government has asked the people of 55 villages along the bank of the River Indus to shift to safe places. This was stated by DCO Ahmed Bux Khokhar while presiding over a meeting held here on Tuesday.

The DCO said that the district administration had been placed on high alert to meet any emergency when an inflow of 700,000 cusecs of water would pass from S. M. Bund, Nawabshah by August 11.

He said that the administration might seek army’s help if needed and said that mudhouses and huts on the river’s embankments would be vacated under directives of the Board of Revenue. An emergency flood control room had been set up at the DCO House, he added.

The executive engineer of Dad Irrigation Division, Rasheed Khoso, told the meeting that work on reinforcing the embankments was going on and extra staff including police had been called up.

He informed that 16 villages in Sakrand and 39 in Doulatpur were located near Indus River and they had been issued notices to vacate them till August 10.