Manchhar breaches widen, water gushes

Published September 18, 2010

Pakistanis walk along a flooded road at Sehwan, Sindh province, southern Pakistan on Friday, Sept. 17, 2010. Floodwaters spilled to other villages in Sehwan after several embankments of Pakistans biggest lake, Manchar, were cut open to keep it from overflowing as water continues to fall south of the country. - AP Photo
DADU The eight breaches in the Manchhar lake embankment widened from 200 feet to 400 feet on Friday and water gushing from them was heading to Dal, Bubak, Pakka Channa and Sehwan areas after inundating 120 villages and 15 kilometres of the Indus Highway at Arazi.

A 100-foot breach developed in the Main Nara Valley (MNV) drain at Zero Point and two breaches of 20 feet in Kotri-Quetta railway tracks at Maro Talpur village near Bubak town.

After washing away two highway bridges, floodwaters entered houses in Arazi and Bakhtiarpur towns. Tando Shahbazi and Wahur villages too were flooded. Wahur is the native village of Sindh Finance Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah.

Sehwan town's road link with Dadu was disconnected. Traffic from Dadu to Hyderabad, Karachi and Sehwan was diverted to the Sukkur-Karachi National Highway through the Dadu-Moro bridge.

The water level in Bubak rose to nine feet and breached the railway track at two point in Maro Talpur village.

A special train service shifting flood-affected people from Bhan Syedabad to Sehwan was suspended.

Trains going to Larkana and Quetta were stopped at Sehwan, Sann, Kotri and Amri and those going to Kotri at Dadu and Sita Road railway stations, stranding hundreds of passengers.

Repairs and plugging of the breaches could not be taken up as waters flowing through them were heading to Bhamba area.

Thousands of people were marooned and there were complaints that rescue work had not been launched.

Floodwaters crossed the boundary wall of a station of the Pak Arab Refinery (Parco) in Bubak as the administration dumped mud bags at doors of rooms and offices.

The waters were flowing towards Karampur town and the Indus link canal.

A 1,000-foot cut was made in the Larkana-Sehwan dyke of the Indus at Karampur, but the waters were still not flowing into the river. Work was under way to widen the cut to 2,000 feet.

The water level in the Indus was higher than that from the breaches, raising the level along the dyke.

LAKE LEVEL DROPS After breaches, water level in Manchhar dropped to 120RL (reduced level). The level of the MNV drain at Chhandan bridge near Dadu further declined by three inches.

The levels at the embankments around Johi and Mehar towns and along the Johi canal near Sita Road dropped by about five inches.

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