DADU, Dec 5: Khariro minor, Pipri, Pyaro Shakh, Pahore Shakh, Johi branch, Nathar Detha minor near Moro, Sehra minor near Gul Mohammad Mashiri village and Late minor near Mithiani developed breaches on Tuesday in the wake of province-wide heavy winter rains flooding wheat crop and vegetables on hundreds of acres.

Farmers of Pyaro Shakh, Aijaz Ahmed Arain and Ghulam Nabi complained that their wheat crop on 200 acres was flooded from water before they could plug the breach.

Irrigation officials with the help of villagers were trying to plug the breaches at Khariro and Pipri minors till the story was filed.

Two breaches at RD-41 and 42 of Pahore Shakh fed by Johi branch inundated wheat crop and vegetables on 500 acres, complained Mehar Gadhi and Moula Bux, farmers.

Irrigation Superintending Engineer Ghulam Hyder Qureshi said that water from recent rains added to pressure in Dadu canal and its minors and led to breaches. He said that he had asked the officials of Sukkur Barrage to reduce water release into canals.

Our Naushehro Feroze correspondent adds: The villagers near the breached Nathar Detha minor, Sehra minor and Late minor plugged the breaches on their own before irrigation staff reached there.

The executive engineer of Rohri division told Dawn that the sudden raise by 13 feet in water level in Rohri canal on Sunday in the wake of heavy rains left them with no other option but to release water into the minors and bear with comparatively little loss.

If they had closed the minors and released the water into Rohri it would have done greater damage, he said. The water level in Rohri had now dropped to seven feet and minors had been closed now, he added.