DADU, Oct 17: Residual rainwater from recent heavy rains in upper Sindh and hill torrents of Balochistan have started building up pressure on flood protective embankment and causing erosion at Manjhi village near Fareedabad town in Mehar taluka, 92 kilometres from here.
Villagers were seen dumping bags filled with loose earth and stones down the affected part of the dyke to strengthen it. The hill torrents and rainwater have inundated at least 30 link roads in 50 villages of Mehar taluka and forced villagers to use boats for travel.
Qadir Bux Chandi, a villager, said that they were more cautious this time because the FP dyke had developed a 500-foot-wide breach near Manjhi village during the super flood of 2010. Presently, the rainwater of upper Sindh, Hamal lake and hill torrents of Balochistan was damaging the embankment, he said.
He said that villagers were strengthening the dyke on their own without getting any help from the irrigation officials concerned who were not ready to visit the area. If it developed a breach it could inundate several parts of Mehar taluka and Mehar town as well, he feared.
Ahmed Ali Chandio, another villager, said that all link roads were inundated and villagers were using boats to reach nearby Fareedabad town. Villagers were facing shortage of medicines which were badly needed to treat patients of waterborne and skin diseases caused by stagnating rainwater, he said.
Ashique Solangi of Khushhal Machhi village alleged that a feudal lord of the area got the doors of Hamal regulator closed during night in connivance with irrigation officers in order to catch fish from MNV drain.
He said that only four feet water was being released from Hamal lake into MNV drain during the day and demanded that doors be opened fully.
Johar Brohi, a well-known poet of Fareedabad town, said that water from Hamal lake had started building up pressure on the northern side of the ring embankment which had been erected to save the town. If level of rainwater and hill torrents rose, it could damage the embankment, he said.
But the provincial secretary of irrigation, Babar Hussain Effendi, who visited the FP dyke and Hamal lake area on Wednesday, denied any cracks in the dyke or erosion near Manjhi village.
He said that stone-pitching had been carried out along the FP embankment from Larkana to zero point of Manchhar lake and the dyke was capable of withstanding pressure of rainwater.
He said the rainwater would not affect Mehar and Qambar towns and adjoining areas as it was being released safely towards Manchhar lake.
At present, rainwater and hill torrents were being stored in Hamal lake from where the excess water would be released to Manchhar lake, he said, adding the irrigation officials were draining out rainwater from Hamal lake through western side of FP dyke and Main Nara Valley drain (MNV).
He said that at present, Hamal lake was completely safe and could store five feet more water. The lake’s total storage capacity was 2.8 million acre feet, he said.
The moment rainwater of upper Sindh and hill torrents of Balochistan started flowing into Hamal lake, irrigation personnel started releasing it towards Manchhar lake, which had a capacity of 9 million acre feet, he said.
The lake could store water up to 122 RL (reduced level) and its current level was 118 feet RL which was safe, he said.
Since water level at the Sukkur Barrage downstream was very low at present, irrigation officials would not face any trouble releasing rainwater from Manchhar lake into the Indus through Aral canal near Sehwan Sharif town, he said.
Mr Effendi said that rainwater stagnating in Larkana, Qambar-Shahdadkot, Shikarpur and Kashmore was being drained out gradually towards Hamal lake through different routes.
Mir Ahmed Bajkani, a Wapda official, said that 3,000 to 3,500 cusecs of rainwater was being released into MNV drain from Hamal lake, which would not affect the drain’s embankments.