Sindh is facing a huge problem, all its three barrages at Sukkur, Kotri and Guddu are sick and need to be rebuilt. Farmers and experts are worried about this but the government does not seem to be concerned – prima facie, not at all. Built in 1932, Sukkur barrage is over 80 years in age. It services 8 million acres through seven major canals. It is in bad shape now for the past many years. Condition of Kotri (built in early 1950s) and Guddu (built in mid 1960s) barrages is even worse.
These barrages had given Sindh the best irrigation system, but due to unconcerned authorities, they have fallen prey to degradation. So much so that an IRSA (Indus River System Authority) team had noted that silt in the river had turned into a ‘delta’ just upstream of Sukkur barrage. Guddu and Kotri barrages too are utterly mismanaged. Silt deltas are a threat to the barrage structure. But no de-silting had been done at Sukkur though funds had been sanctioned for it. Such a delta takes years – not days – to come into being. Irrigation officials are required to keep dismantling all such formations to let the water flow smoothly across the barrage, said an over 70 years old resident of Sukkur. But our Irrigation Department has done nothing over the years, thus turning the ‘delta’ into a threat for the barrage structure, he added.
It is about time that G/o Sindh and Islamabad begin seriously exploring possibilities of building new/ alternative barrages to save the province’s agriculture and national economy. Apart from ill attention of the Irrigation Department, another big villain here is direct outlets (DOs) given to big land lords. Irrigation Act has no room for DOs. These DOs are one of the main reasons for agriculture sector’s destruction says Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB). They oppose DOs. SAB president told the press that DOs have destroyed different canals and distributaries. An IRSA team had recently found 70 DOs in Kirthar Canal taking off from Guddu Barrage and mainly serving Balochistan.
Of these illegal modules, 63 are in Sindh and 7 in Balochistan. As per SAB estimates, Rohri and Nara Canals, both taking off from Sukkur Barrage, have 150 DOs. Not only that, Sukkur Barrage’s command area had been shifted to Kotri Barrage but it got no additional water, he claimed. Figures about DOs in other canals taking off from Sukkur, Kotri and Guddu were not immediately available. According to SAB, distributaries and canals in the province are being encroached and facing destruction. SAB demanded equipping all water channels with tail gauges, standard equipment in the British era, to measure water reaching different points. Tail gauges are no longer in use.
SAB also called for repairing regulators many of which had almost collapsed. It was pointed out that in case of floods, water discharged by Sukkur Barrage could not flow under Larkana – Khairpur and Dadu – Moro bridges.
