HYDERABAD: A medium level flood was passing through Guddu Barrage while Sukkur Barrage was having low flood flows on Sunday.
Both the barrages have recently undergone upgrade work under the World Bank-funded Sindh Barrages Improvement Programme (SBIP).
In view of the flood season, part of the work under SBIP was completed before the start of this season and would now begin again in October when it ends.
A discharge of 367,888 cusecs was recorded downstream Guddu against upstream discharge of 405,650 cusecs at 6pm on Sunday. It is indicative of medium flood level.
A discharge of 350,000 cusecs to 500,000 cusecs is considered medium flood, statistics-wise in the irrigation system, both at Guddu and Sukkur barrages in view of their design discharge capacities.
Unlike these barrages, a discharge of 300,000 cusecs is declared medium flood at Kotri Barrage in view of its discharge capacity (875,000 cusecs) that is lower than what these two barrages have.
Sukkur Barrage remained in low flood till Sunday. An inflow of 300,050 cusecs was recorded at 6pm on Sunday. Its downstream flows stood at 241,000 cusecs, which indicates considerable withdrawal for its seven major canals that feed its right and left bank canals.
Likewise, Kotri remained in normal state with an upstream discharge of 142,228 cusecs against downstream discharge of 99,763 cusecs.
A flow of 367,888 cusecs recorded downstream Guddu
Sukkur Barrage control room incharge Aziz Soomro informed that those were flows that were released downstream Chashma Barrage. He said Guddu Barrage would continue to remain in medium flood level stage for another few days. He was, however, unsure whether Sukkur Barrage would attain medium flood level state after Guddu.
Water is being stored in Tarbela dam where an outflow of 273,600 cusecs of Indus river was recorded down against inflow of 301,700 cusecs. Similarly, Mangla over Jhelum river received an inflow of 31,187 cusecs on Sunday and outflow of 7,000 cusecs was recorded.
Sukkur gets mechanised gates after 1932
While 16 new gates have been replaced at Sukkur Barrage, another 28 gates would be replaced before commencement the year 2026’s flood season and according to Sukkur Barrage Chief Engineer Pritam Das, work on such replacement would begin from October this year when flood ends usually.
Since its commissioning in the colonial era of 1932, Sukkur Barrage gets 16 mechanised gates now for the first time. Not only this but height of each gate of the barrage was increased by 2ft from its previous specification i.e., from 21ft to 23ft.
Sukkur has 56 gates, in all, after 10 of its gates were permanently closed due to silt accumulation. After the barrage started working in 1932, these gates were closed around 1938-40 with the result that its designed discharge was reduced from 1.5m cusecs to 0.9m cusecs.
“Each gate is now to be operated with a machine and counterweight from all these 16 gates has been removed,” said Mr Das, who is also SBIP’s project director. According to him, the same mechanisation would be given effect in the remaining 28 gates by the year 2026’s flood season.
“An increase of 2ft height in each gate was to ensure that pond level is achieved for right side pocket of the canals. All the remaining 28 gates will also have similar height”, said the PD.
At Guddu Barrage, the first over Indus river in Sindh, 35 gates have been replaced out of 65. Another 20 gates would be replaced by 2026 and remaining 10 in 2027, according to the project director.
The SBIP is being executed at a cost of Rs74bn. All regulators of the off-taking canals of the two barrages would also be replaced.
Coffer dam that created for the upgrade work at Sukkur Barrage has been removed from upstream. It would be created again after the current flood season’s end.
Such replacement of regulators at Guddu’s three canals has been done while the replacement of Sukkur Barrage canals’ regulators would still needs some time and that could be achieved by 2027 for want of some design-related approvals by the consultants.
Over one year back Sukkur Barrage’s gates developed major damages as upper portion of gate-47 was washed way. During closer inspection, six more gates had damages which necessitated repairs immediately.
An inquiry committee found ‘deferred maintenance’ as leading cause of June 20 damages to the vital barrage structure.
Published in Dawn, July 28th, 2025
