SUKKUR, June 11: Four villages of Daharki Town, rice and cotton crops, and a fish farm were flooded when a 80-feet-wide breach developed in the Mahi Wah, Ghotki district, on Tuesday night.
The villages which were flooded were Mohammad Umar Rajri, Yar Bhutto, Mohammad Rajri and Saeed Samejo. At least 24 houses were destroyed in the villages when the gushing water entered the houses of the villagers.
The announcement regarding the breach was made over a mosque loudspeaker. To protect themselves, the villagers climbed on the roof of their houses.
The villagers said that some vegetable crops, rice and cotton had been totally inundated and destroyed, and added that a fish farm and a brick kiln was completely destroyed when the gushing water entered both.
Hundreds of people belonging to Bharchoondi Sharif, the native town of former MNA Mian Abdul Haque, were trying to plug the breach but in vain as the pressure of the water was too much.
The irrigation officials arrived at the site after 12 hours. They brought labourers and heavy machinery to plug the breach.
The officials had the Ghotki feeder closed.
The SDO, irrigation, told this correspondent that the breach would be filled by Wednesday night.
MAHAR: Sindh Chief Minister Ali Mohammad Mahar handed over a cheque of Rs500,000 to Sukkur Press Club president Shamim Shamsi at the airport here on Wednesday morning.
He also gave away a cheque of Rs50,000 to an ailing reporter of the Daily Halchal, Mushtaq Mangrio, for treatment.
TEACHERS: The government of Sindh has decided to reopen closed schools and recruit 11,000 new teachers on contract basis, this correspondent learnt from reliable sources on Wednesday.
Sources said that the Sindh Education Department has recommended to the chief minister, Sindh, Sardar Ali Mohammad Khan Mahar, to reopen 1,800 educational institutes where 11,000 new teachers would be recruited on contract basis.
For the time being, teachers will be appointed on contract basis to run the educational institutions.
Meanwhile, the Sindh chief minister has consulted his ministers to overcome the problem of joblessness and to put pressure on World Bank officials to keep a provision for contractual employees in the budget for the province.