Khawaja Zaheer Ahmed - PDMA

c. Most Dams/ Barrages including Sukkur sustained high and
exceptionally high peaks upto 15 consecutive days was unprecedented.
` d. Kotri Barrage sustained high flows for more than 7 days. But the
most significant reality was that despite 336 extra hours, for the waters to
reach Kotri Barrage, Thatta-Sujjawal, downstream, was inundated after
the breaches of MS and PB Bunds. Not only that bunds were not
maintained, despite adequate warning and time-lag, efforts to fortify the
eroded and known vulnerable sections of bunds at Thatta Sujawal were
not made, and despite the local MNA chasing all concerned.
e. The disparity in the time-lag between projections and arrivals was
directly co-related to the excessive diversions of flood flows that escaped
through breaches. Thatta /Sujawal downstream Kotri had no reason to be
exposed to tamed flows long after 4-weeks of the warning advisories
commencing first torrential rain in KP on 27 th July, if not earlier.
f. Assuming Sukkur’s present capacity at 1.1 million cusecs with 6
feet freeboard modified by the Indus River Commission from 900,000
cusecs premised on 4 feet freeboard (page 4 of 18 chapter V of Sindh
Bund Manual) in pursuance of IRC meeting of 27 th September, 1973 and
later reviews after 1976 floods) the relevant hydrographs of the Indus
established two back-to-back reduced peak flows that merged on arrival at
Kotri.
g. The standard rule of the thumb after 1976 historic floods is that
height of a bund/ embankments is required to be maintained at a level 6 ft
above the last highest flood level. In Sindh, the highest floods were
recorded in 1976 and in the Punjab in 1992. But the bunds were
admittedly not maintained for decades, as per the prescribed
specifications of the relevant O and M Manuals except the LMB of Taunsa
Barrage in the Punjab. The last mentioned was refurbished in 2008-09
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