Government of Sindh may consider the following;

• Immediate repairs and rehabilitation of Tori Bund at the over topping site and restoration of bunds in all the affected districts including Thatta.
• Immediate and concrete steps to strengthen all the flood protection embankments / bunds in general, on both the banks of the river.
• Removal of all privately raised bunds and illegal structures in the bed / natural course of the river, obstructing free flow of water.
• Removal of encroachments from inside the bund walls on both the sides of the river at Sukkur….( ref:1) to allow more quantity of water to flow, reducing the pressure on the old structure of Sukkur Barrage.
• Removal of illegal islands allowed through siltation around Bakhar Fort, Sadhu Belo and Sukkur Barrage…. (ref:2-i,ii,iii).
• Dredging of river and canals on regular basis.
• Flushing of drains during aabkaliani season on regular basis in the command areas of all the three barrages.
• Feeding Manchar Lake on regular basis every year making it a standby Escape / Reservoir with an appropriate outlet.
• Repairs, Maintenance and Rehabilitation of all Irrigation Infra structures on yearly basis by fixing targets for physical works as well as achieving Honesty levels.
• Reduction of pressure on all the three barrages through construction of Escapes / Spill ways and By passes, viz;

     Guddu Barrage …… 

Deep dredging / excavation of Rainee canal and its extension by an other 5-10 k.ms allowing flow of at least three times the flow of water in cutting and connecting it with the historical bed of Rainee-Hakra-Ghaghar-Sarswati Rivers (ref:3-i,ii,iii). This abandoned river bed is very conveniently being used by Punjab to its advantage for drainage of affluence towards Sindh through the desert, destroying thousands of acres of arid area in Ghotki district.

Sukkur Barrage……..

            Benazir Canal…..   

• Sukkur Barrage was constructed in 1932 having 64 gates with a capacity of about 12 lac cusecs of water.
• With 16 gates permanently closed, the current capacity of this old structure stands reduced to 9 lac cusecs only.
• Sindhu on account of lack of dredging and encroachment on both the banks at Sukkur has narrowed.
• Water passing through the encroached narrow passage gains higher speed to pass through the barrage.
• During the last flood season, a great risk was taken at the cost of the old and a comparatively weaker structure of the barrage, the irrigation system, the agriculture and the over- all economy of Sindh and foolishly, the flows of about 11.5 lac cusecs were allowed to pass through the barrage for more than three days.
• What if the barrage or a portion of it had washed away………!
•  Repairs and / or Reconstruction of Sukkur barrage would have been too costly and out of question.

On account of its importance, age and the current capacity of 9 lac cusecs, there is no need to take the smallest risk of allowing more water but restrict the flow to about 8 – 8.5 lac cusecs and divert excess water to bye-pass the barrage through an Escape. .... more