OKARA, May 10: Punjab Governor Lt-Gen Khalid Maqbool (retired) on Friday visited Balloki Sulemanki Link One Canal to take stock of the breach the canal had developed on Wednesday.

About 230-foot portion of the canal developed breach, causing great financial loss to the people living in 15 surrounding villages.

According to APP, the governor ordered the reopening of the canal within three days after repairing the portion breached near Qila Sada Singh, some 40km from here.

Board of Revenue senior member Ziaur Rahman informed the governor that crops spreading over hundreds of acres were inundated due to the breach.

He said that some 27 houses had collapsed and 92 houses partially damaged. Several tubewells became out of order and thousands of maunds wheat chaff had been spoiled, he added.

Talking to the villagers, the governor announced a grant of Rs10,000 each for those whose houses were collapsed and Rs5,000 each for those who suffered partial loss.

He directed the board of revenue to ensure provision of relief money to the victims without delay.

He ordered suspension of Superintendent Engineer Chaudhry Akhtar, Executive Engineer Rana Yaseen Khan, SDO Kalb-i-Abbas, Sub-Engineer Akram Paracha and two baildars for breach of duty.

Earlier, the governor visited a wheat procurement centre in Shergarh, some 30km from here.

He said the government had so far purchased around 1 million tons of wheat against the target of 3.5 million tons in the province.

The government had rid growers of the hassle of obtaining gunny bags by offering them the bags on personal surety, Mr Maqbool concluded.