Khawaja Zaheer Ahmed - PDMA

. While giving an overview of the Punjab operations, Mr. Rab Nawaz,
Secretary Irrigation and Power deposed that 3,500 km (2,083
miles) of flood embankments in the province were being maintained
including 845 km (507 miles) on the Indus River. Despite many
institutional, managerial, budgetary and operational constraints and
prioritized commitment towards maintenance of main spurs, by and
large the bunds were being maintained in reasonably tolerable
condition, as per its ‘Flood Fighting Plans’ devised for each
region/ barrage and revised annually. The major issues confronting
irrigation management, enumerated in the written presentation
included: disproportionate pre-occupation with canal water
distribution for irrigation requirements, frequent thefts by
commercial earth lifters, unauthorised and technically unsound
public works by local authorities, surge in encroachments, unlawful
use of acquired lands in river-pond areas [now being sold off), staff
complacency after protracted dry-spells and ineffective or
inadequate inter-Provincial coordination etc. The case of breached
‘Fakhhar Bund’ near Mithan Kot, constructed by the district council
in 1980s without technical safeguards and since transferred to I and
P Department for maintenance, was cited in particular to assert that
such projects created false sense of security. It was pointed out
that the natural factors like heavy rains in Swat, Kabul and Indus
Rivers catchments during last week of July and first half of August,
2010, combined with heavy rains from hill torrents in DG Khan and
Rajanpur Districts had hit the areas around main barrages,
irrigation infrastructures, cropped lands and the people, in two
waves: First peak flows reached Jinnah Barrage on 30 July but by
then parts of 4, 999 ft LGB/LMB had already eroded (on 29 July)
due to ‘pathetic handling of barrage gates’ by the XEN incharge of
the regulation who apparently left it to the lower staff to decide and
forge the record later after contributing to the 29 th July breach of
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