DADU: A villager was carried away by raging floodwater from a 50-foot-wide breach in Rajwah Canal near Sojhro Bhand village on Friday and drowned.

The breach water inundated the villages of Sojhro Bhand, Waris Bhand, Punjabi Ja Bhan, Ghulam Nabi Khoso and Khamiso Khoso and caused about 300 mud-thatched houses to collapse. It flooded standing crops of paddy and vegetables on 1,000 acres and destroyed five fish ponds.

The floodwaters carried away three villagers when they were trying to plug the breach. One of them identified as Mashooq Bhand, 35, drowned while Ghulam Mustafa and Bashir Bhand were rescued by other villagers.

The devastation and death caused by the breach infuriated the villagers and they staged a 10-kilometre-long march on Betto Jatoi–Mehar road while carrying the body of the villager who had drowned in floodwaters.

They held a demonstration on the road in Mehar town by placing the body on the road and demanded registration of an FIR against irrigation officials on charges of murder and irreparable losses to property.

Waris Bhand and Akbar Bhand who led the protesting villagers said they had informed the executive engineer of irrigation, Tariq Kehar, and other staff concerned time and again about the breach but no one arrived there to plug it.

They blamed negligence on the part of irrigation officials for the breach and said the dyke which developed the breach was too weak to withstand heavy pressure of water.

It had not been repaired as the budget for its repair had been embezzled, they alleged.

Published in Dawn, August 2nd, 2014