SHIKARPUR, Aug 8 A large number of people have moved out of Shikarpur and adjoining areas of Khanpur, Lakhi Ghulam Shah and Garhi Yasin talukas which are facing a severe threat following breaches in Torhi and Ghouspur embankments.

After a warning issued by the district administration, families started leaving Shikarpur town and moving to Sukkur, Karachi, Hyderabad and other places. People of adjoining areas are also being evacuated.

The villages of Garhi Tegho, Mian Sahib, Sultankot, Humayoon, Mirpur Buriro, Jhali Kalwari and Lakhi and kutcha areas are facing threat of inundation.

According to flood emergency cell, following the breach in Torhi embankment, water had entered Begari-Sindh Feeder Canal which weakened the pressure to some extent.

Sindh Minister for Local Bodies Agha Sirajuddin Durrani and DCO Shikarpur Saeed Ahmed Mangnejo have said that the entire district of Shikapur was threatened by increasing water flow at Guddu and Sukkur.

The minister claimed that precautionary measures had been undertaken to cope with any emergency.

Our Dadu correspondent adds Another 79 villages in kutcha area were inundated by flood water on Sunday, raising the number of flooded villages in the district to 179.

As water level rose along the Larkana -Sehwan embankment and Dadu-Moro bridge army and police personnel stepped up efforts to persuade people to move to safe places but a large number of people were reluctant to leave their homes.

Sindh Education Minister Pir Mazharul Haq who visited vulnerable points of the Larkana-Sehwan bund in Shaikh Gulab village and Mile-77 near Dadu and J-Spur embankment near Dadu-Moro bridge expressed dissatisfaction with work being done by irrigation officials at L-S Bund.

He told journalists that there was need for much work to strengthen weak portions of J-spur.

Dadu DCO, meanwhile, issued warning to residents of Purano Dero, Piaro Arain, Sita village, Gula Mohammad Dawachh, KT Jatoi and Moundar towns in Katchho area, and urged them to move to safe places soon because breaches might occur at ring embankment of KT Jatoi.

However, residents of Moundar and Purano Dero have refused to move to relief camps.

Dadu irrigation engineer Habibullah Chandio said that heavy flood had started inundating kutcha area of the district and around 650,000 cusecs of water was passing under the Dadu-Moro bridge.