HYDERABAD, Aug 8: The District Council on Thursday has demanded a judicial inquiry through a high court judge into the Rohri Canal breach, and that stern action be taken against those officials who were found responsible.

It called for the immediate rehabilitation of all displaced people after paying them compensation for the losses.

It also called for providing compensation to those people whose houses had been inundated due to the overflowing of the old Phuleli Canal.

Two resolutions regarding it were tabled by Syed Ali Mohammed Shah of the Union Council Zeer Peer, Hala Taluka, and Babu Ramzan Arain.

Mr Shah claimed that thousands of acres of standing crops had been destroyed and cattle heads had died due to flooding as a result of the breach, which developed on July 28. He said that several villages had also been inundated.

Expressing sympathies with the victims, he demanded the government to compensate the villagers for the losses.

The resolution said that interest-free loans should be provided to the villagers to facilitate them to harvest their crops for the next season. It also stated that at least a two-year exemption be provided to the villagers regarding the payment of their loans.

Mr Shah said that measures should be taken so that there was no chance of any breaches developing in the future.

He told the session that the grant of Rs5 million announced by the Sindh governor was insufficient, and it too had not been released so far. He demanded that more monetary grants be provided.

Mr Arain claimed that three main canals passing through the city had been overflowing as a result of which various colonies, mills, poultry farms, and the Nara Jail had been flooded.

He said that irrigation officials had been informed about it but they paid no attention.

He condemned the indifferent attitude of the irrigation officials and called for providing compensation to the affected people.

He demanded the removal of the Sindh governor saying he had virtually failed to safeguard the interests of the province, and added that the council’s members must devise a strategy “to protect our interests otherwise we will be doomed”.

The members took notice of the absence of irrigation officials of the Sukkur Barrage despite having been invited by the District Council.

Advocate M. Prakash called for declaring the entire district as a calamity-hit rather than just four dehs of Matiari Taluka.

SUPERINTENDENT ENGINEER: A superintendent engineer of the Kotri Barrage, Manzoor Ahmed Sheikh, told the session that an official of the Sukkur Barrage had come to the District Council but the main door was locked.