The water level in Manchhar Lake has dropped to RL 118, though floodwater still exerting pressure in several union councils on Monday. The water has dropped to five feet below the lake’s capacity level of RL 123, according to sources. Floodwater maintaining pressure at union councils Wahar, Jaffarabad, Bubak and Channa. Around 80 percent of houses have razed to ground in flooding and people waiting for government relief to restart their lives. Jamshoro district administration has claimed to run boat service for local people stranded in floodwater. Though, the government run boats are conspicuous for their absence. The district administration has claimed running 150 boats in taluka Sehwan and spending 5000 rupees and providing 10 litre fuel daily to each boat. A daily bill of 7,50,000 rupees being claimed for 150 boats, sources said.

“Not a single district administration-run boat being seen in the area”, flood affected persons claim. Flood victims also protested in front of the deputy commissioner’s camp office at Sehwan, over non provision of ration items to them. “Administration officials distributing ration to their favorite persons,” protesters claimed. They also demanded of Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah to take notice of the relief items unavailability to flood affected people. Sindh Irrigation Department on Tuesday said that daily 1.5 Lac cusecs water being discharged into Indus River from Manchhar Lake. Manchhar Lake, spreading over Dadu and Jamshoro districts of Sindh, is the largest freshwater reservoir in Pakistan. The lake is at the centre of flooding in Sindh’s districts on the right bank of the Indus River. The water of flash floods from Kheerthar Range has drowned the area and changed it into a huge lake, as it could not found way out to enter into the Indus, owing to flooding in the river.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP