Plan B launched to save Dadu city amid relentless floods

• Authorities launch plan B to save Dadu city amid floods.   
• Ring dyke is being constructed along embankments of Burda Canal to protect Dadu.
• People in flood-hit areas are facing outbreak of waterborne diseases.

DADU: As the cataclysmic floods caused by above normal monsoon rains swept away the Chak-Nizam bridge, the first defence line of Dadu, the authorities launched on Sunday a plan B under which a ring dyke is being constructed along the embankments of Burda canal to protect the city.

Heavy machinery is being used to erect the ring dyke up to 15 feet high, the authorities said, adding that the flash floods from Manchar Lake breached the Dadu ring bund, posing a threat to the city.

Indus River downstream flows reached 150,000 cusecs after the cuts were made to the Manchar Lake embankments at various points. Meanwhile, people are being evacuated and being moved to safer places.

In Naushehro Feroze, over 50 villages are still submerged despite the passage of several days and the locals are facing an outbreak of waterborne diseases.

Dadu most affected by floods: COAS 

A day earlier, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa visited Dadu, labelling it as the most affected district by the recent floods.

The army chief, during his visit to Dadu and its surrounding areas, reviewed the ongoing rescue and relief work following the floods triggered by abnormal rains in rural Sindh, said the Inter-Services Public Relations said in a statement.

Addressing the current flooding situation in the district, Gen Bajwa lauded the local authorities for their efforts in ensuring the safety of the population affected by the floods. 

Death toll surges to 621

It is pertinent to mention here that the death toll from the cataclysmic floods in Sindh surged to 621 as 12 more people fell prey to the waters during the last 24 hours, it emerged Sunday.

A small bridge collapsed on the Bhan Saeedabad-Johi Link Road after which floodwaters crossed the Ring Road of Dadu. On the other hand, disaster was averted in the Johi city after a breach, created by unidentified men, was plugged, sources in the irrigation department said.

The breach, which was created in the Johi Branch canal, caused pressure on the canal’s ring dyke, which could have submerged the nearby homes. However, residents from nearby areas rushed to the site and attempted to plug the breach through their own resources, according to Geo News. Authorities have also breached the Larkana-Sehwan bund to prevent floodwaters from entering Dadu, The News reported.

In another incident, floods resulted in a breach in the Dal branch and floodwaters entered a grid station in Bhan Saeedabad and hit the city’s ring dykes. A large number of people gathered there and tried to strengthen its embankments.