The River Indus, which is in high flood at Mehrr in Dadu, has inundated over 50 villages, causing a colossal loss to the people by flooding homes, shops and destroying crops. Meanwhile, several villages situated in the katcha area of Sujawal have been submerged, forcing the locals to take shelter at safe places. The River Indus was in medium flood at Kotri Barrage as 364,000 cusecs of water was heading towards the Indus Delta till last reports came in.

On the other hand, people displaced by floods in Sujawal have appealed to the Sindh government to provide them with ration and other items.  Crops grown over hundreds of acres of land were submerged after a 10-feet-wide breach developed in Jinpur Shams canal in Taranda Muhammad Panah in Bahawalpur. And despite the fact that the authorities were informed of the situation, nobody came to plug the breach. Residents of the area have requested the deputy commissioner to take notice of their plight. 

On the other hand, the suburban areas of Taranda Muhammad Panah still lie submerged. The road, connecting Basti Noor Wala, Ghafoorabad, Hayat Machi and other towns, has been under water for the last 15 days, making it difficult for the locals to return to their homes.  They have said that since nobody from the administration has helped them, they are returning to their homes on their own. They have also appealed to the Punjab government to build a flyover on the road, which is presently under water. 

Just like in other parts of southern Punjab and Sindh, floods have also wreaked havoc in Liaquatpur near Rahim Yar Khan as people have been deprived of their homes, crops and all their belongings. On the other hand, people in Alipur, who have now started returning to their homes, are saddened to see the scale of destruction the flood has caused to their homes and crops.  The natural calamity has deprived them of all their belongings. People complain that the government has not taken sufficient steps for their rehabilitation.   

They have appealed to the government to assist them in rebuilding their homes so that they could start their lives afresh. Similarly, flood has also wrecked the lives of the people in Arifwala and Qabula in central Punjab. People of the area look to the government for help. Meanwhile, the water levels in the River Indus at Guddu and Sukkur Barrages have dropped and the river is in low flood at both these places.  The water flow at Guddu Barrage has been recorded at 260,000 cusecs, while 261,000 cusecs at Sukkur Barrage.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)