The Ministry of Water and Power has finalised a comprehensive rainwater evacuation plan focusing on clearance of rainwater from urban areas of Sindh and has put Benazirabad, the home constituency of President Asif Ali Zardari, on top priority after which the water evacuation plan would be expanded to the villages and under cultivation areas of all the 26 districts hit by the recent floods.
An official source said President Zardari was given a detailed briefing by the ministry on the subject and the plan had been approved for rainwater evacuation from Benazirabad, Sangarh, Mirpurkhas and Badin districts as the president wanted these cities to be kept on priority, which were the main focus of either his personal interest or the interest of his close relatives and friends, the source said.
“The presentation was made to the president in Karachi on September 19, by Member Water, WAPDA, Syed Raghib Abbas, on the rainwater evacuation plan. It was directed that Benazirabad should be cleared of rainwater on top priority and “we will clear water from city in four days as 70 percent work has been completed in the city,” said the source. Under the rainwater evacuation plan, a copy of which has been obtained by Pakistan Today, the inundated areas of Sindh would be cleared in three phases.
“In the first phase, cities and urban centres will be cleared. We plan to evacuate rainwater from Nawab Shah, also known as Benazirabad, as top priority which would be cleared in four days time. Then come Sangarh, and Mirpurkhas, which will be cleared in ten days. We are clearing around 3,500 cusecs of water on a daily basis and hope to completely drain out water from Sangarh in 20 days. However, there is a problem with Badin which may take another 30 days as there is no proper drainage system to evacuate rainwater,” added the source.
The official said four drainage systems had been chosen to clear rainwater and Sindh had been divided into four zones. “The drainage systems which have been selected for clearance are Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD), Phuleli Ghunni Drain, Karo Ghumro, and Kotari drainage system,” said the source, adding that for clearance of Thatta from rainwater, a separate plan was being adopted. Per the plan presented to the president, the catchment areas of LBOD which would cleared in Stage-1 of the project comprise Benazirabad, Sangarh, Mirpurkhas and Badin.
