The Sindh Irrigation Department has warned that the Pakistan Navy has encroached along the bed of Indus River within the jurisdiction of the Sukkur Barrage division to build a park and if Rohri or Sukkur cities are inundated in case of floods, the navy should be held responsible.
The claims have been made in a letter sent from the office of the chief engineer Sukkur Barrage Left Bank Region dated December 21, 2011 and sent through the Sukkur Division Commissioner to the Sindh government.
In the letter numbered WB-1/592/201/4-W/8280, Sukkur Barrage Chief Engineer Agha Aijaz has written that the Sukkur Naval commander has encroached on the upstream of Lansdowne Bridge and dug a huge trench to construct a long wall for establishing the Navy Park.
“The Rohri taluka municipal administration has launched an illegal scheme and encroached on the river course. The technical apprehension involved is that at this section upstream the Lansdowne Bridge, Indus River diverges and bifurcates into shoots; on the left side being the major flow,” it is stated in the letter.
“After crossing the bridge and Bakhar Island, including Sadhu Bela, the river converges into a single flow again. Due to the presence of heavy landmass (in shape of Bakhar Island), the flow area available in the channel for Indus has reduced enormously, causing irregular and lateral high velocity of water flow. Consequently, the high thrust of river is putting pressure on both the left and the right abutment at Lansdowne Bridge.”
Terming the letter most urgent and time limit case, it is further revealed that in the light of above stated facts, permission cannot be granted to any department for initiating any schemes or activities inside the ambit of Bunder Wall.
“In technical terms, any activity inside the Bunder Wall will not be viable and cannot be permitted as it would have damaging impacts over the flow of Indus River, consequently having negative repercussions for the stability of Sukkur Barrage, which is indeed the backbone of green economy of Sindh,” the letter states.
It is written in the letter that no physical activity inside the embankment of Bunder Wall should be initiated without the prior permission of Indus River Commission, and the area being in jurisdiction of Sukkur barrage division, no agency, firm or any other individual can make any changes in the design area of Indus River Profile.
The Sukkur Barrage Division executive engineer has reported that the Sukkur Naval Commander is involved in illegal encroachments at various locations within the river course in the Sukkur Barrage jurisdiction.
“Due to his active involvement, the bund and Bunder Wall will have unmitigated damages with serious repercussions over the flood control measure,” he wrote. “If his illegal activities are not desisted, the office of the undersigned will bear no responsibility in the event of flood, if any disaster surfaces in the cities of Sukkur and Rohri.”
“In their reports, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the Pakistan Army and the judicial commission on floods have stated that one of the major causes of last year’s flood disaster was illegal encroachments along the bed of Indus River, along with construction of illegal ‘zameendari’ bunds and residential accommodation on flood plains,” it is stated in the letter.
The executive engineer added that the Supreme Court has also ordered ensuring the removal of the same before the ‘Abkalani season’, beside the federal flood commission has also reviewed the illegal encroachments along the Indus River embankments.
Under this office letter, the chief engineer has also asked for intervening into the matter for vacation of the area encroached by Sukkur naval commander.
“The naval commander has again forcibly started encroachment activity with the assistance of other officers, which needs to be stopped immediately with the help of law enforcement agencies,” it was stated.
“In the view of the position explained above, it is requested to please take appropriate action for vacation of the encroached area by the Sukkur naval commander or he and his officials will be held responsible for any eventually or damage to the infrastructure henceforth,” it was wtitten in the conclusion.
Along with the letter, a copy of the Sindh Irrigation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2011 – passed in the Sindh Assembly on November 26, 2011 – was also attached, according to which anyone who encroaches land in the Indus River bed can be imprisoned for 10 years and courts are not allowed to give any stay orders.
