Khawaja Zaheer Ahmed - PDMA

. Establishing a coordinating mechanism with WMO and the SAARC
warning.
countries for accessing / sharing information on early weather
II. FLOOD MITIGATION
83. During the devastating floods of 2010 which not only caused damage of
life and property in the private sector but huge damage also occurred to the
public sector infrastructure such as sweeping away of roads, bridges and a large
number of schools, colleges and BHU’s etc.
84. In its interaction with public and private sector institutions, the Commission
noted with concern that major damage occurred due to lack of maintenance and
repair of river embankments, canals, and obstruction by major
highways/motorways constructed by the Irrigation department and the National
Highway Authority (NHA) and others across the country.
A. Barrages and Bunds
85. Several bunds, canals and barrages experienced breaches as a result. In
the case of Jinnah Barrage, the breaching sections were identified before and
were breached after proper consultative progress. The water discharged from
such pre-designated breaches was channelized and it re-entered the Indus
downstream. This was not so in the case of other bunds where no such provision
existed and yet these bunds were allowed to be breached. This caused huge
damage to life or property besides rendering thousands unemployed and
homeless.
86. During its deliberations, the Commission observed that most damages
could have been prevented if strategically located escape points, like the Raini
Canal, were available at barrages, bunds and motorways/highways. Adequate
systems could be put in place providing for a consultative plan for maintenance
of bunds through assured funding, if necessary, by generating funds from water
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