DADU, July 30: Acting on directives of President Asif Ali Zardari a team of irrigation officials inspected the repair work on dykes of Nai Gaj nullah on Monday. The team was led by Sindh secretary irrigation Babar Hussain Effendi.

Talking to this correspondent, Mr Effendi said work to plug breaches had begun on June 21 at a cost of Rs190 million but rainwater created hurdles from July 10 to 16. He said that four breaches at RD 3, 12, 13 and 14 had so far been plugged.

He said that the Nai Gaj diversion bund had also been damaged at RD 3 to 8, 9, 12 and 12 to 17 where 50 per cent repair work had been completed.

He assured the people settled near Nai Gaj that hill torrents caused by rain would have pressure of 26 feet.

The secretary said four breaches in the nullah diversion bund had been plugged.

An 800 feet wide breach each occurred in the dyke at RD 3, 12, 13 and 14 after rains hit the district in 2011.

The breaches were being plugged when rainwater again washed away material and newly-constructed part of the dyke on July 10, 15 and July 16 this year. Repair of dykes were once again taken up on June 21.

The water pressure in the nullah damaged bridges at Haji Khan-Chinni road, Wahi Pandhi-Chhinni road, Chhinni-Johi road, Drigh Bala road and Tando Rahim Khan Road.

Executive engineer Habibullah Kaboro said the Nai Gaj diversion bund, also called bolder bund, was 32,000 feet long.

The catchment area of the nullah consists of 2000 square miles in Khirthar Range Mountains and the discharge of the hill torrent may rise up to 350,000 cusecs.

He said that normally water from Nai Gaj irrigated 150,000 acres of land in Kachho and after rainfall it irrigated 400,000 acres. He said that after plugging the breaches, work was taken up to reinforce the bund with wire netting.

He said the dyke would not be affected in the event of another rainy spell.

A resident of village Jaffar Lund said his people suffered huge losses after Gaj overflows.

Roads damaged by recent rains have not been repaired and only restoration work on two of the five bridges was carried out near Wahi Pandhi.

A resident of Wahi Pandhi, Faqir Ghulam Qadir Rustamani, said two bridges had been restored and work on the third bridge at Wahi Pandhi-Johi road was continuing.