Khawaja Zaheer Ahmed - PDMA

the LGB/LMB to flood Mianwali and Bhakkar districts. The flood
that peaked at Taunsa on 2 nd August had also breached the 7,410
ft long LMB and many more secondary bunds and canals damaged
by massive flows that escaped therefrom, due to multiple factors
including inattention to the complaint of jamming of electronically
operated gates since 17July. It was pointed out that spur 5 was
saved but the LMB’s breach at RD 32-33 led to extensive damages
in Muzaffargarh district where TP link and Thal canal overflowed to
inundate Kot Addu for weeks. Heavy discharges from torrential rain
in Suleiman range raised the flood waters downstream DG Khan,
Rajanpur and RY Khan to 1.2 million cusecs, breaching Jampur
and Mithan Kot Bunds that inundated many towns; the flood was
described as 1/1000 years. The incomplete Bhong Bund that
breached upstream Guddu on the Punjab-Sindh boundary
inundated vast areas in the Punjab as well. It was disclosed that
breaching sections are specified for Jinnah barrage (RMB: RD
6700-8700 and LMB: RD 5000) and Dholewala Groyne inside the
river which were activated after due consultations by the civil-
military officials, on spot, as soon as the gauge touched the critical
high of RL 700 and rising, following Khairabad downstream
discharge at Tarbela of 1.1 million cusecs. The water that escaped
from these pre-designated breaches re-entered downstream Jinnah
Barrage, as expected. While denying any motivated, parochial
expedient or considerations, it was conceded that at many places
people prevented or even induced human interventions to cause
breaches in defiance of official persuasions, urgings, warnings and
directions; managerial weaknesses and human errors where noted
were subjected to E and D proceedings, since put on hold in view
of the on-going inquiry by the Punjab Judicial Commission. It was
also admitted that but for timely presence of army personnel,
damages at certain places could not have been contained by local
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