Dyke blown to save Jhang city; Multan under threat
11 September, 2014
JHANG: The protective dyke of Athara Hazari has been blown off to save Jhang city and Trimu Headworks, and now the floodwater is heading towards 200 villages including densely populated areas of Tehsil Athara Hazari and Tehsil Ahmedpur Sial.
A breach of about 100 foot was made in the dyke at 10am on Wednesday which will likely effect 200,000 rural population in the two tehsils. DCO Jhang Raja Khurram Shahzad Omer once again appealed to the villagers to vacate the area and move to safer places. He said that army troops or Rescue 1122 staff will help shift them to safer places. On Wednesday, 590,000 cusecs water was passing through Trimu Headworks while floodwater of up to 750,000 cusecs was expected to reach there Wednesday night.
Sargodha Road and Multan Road have been closed for all types of traffic. At 4am, a protective spur of Jhang city got breached near Moza Wijhlana due to water pressure and consequently floodwater inundated many localities, including Khaiwala, Maddoki, Wijhlana. Jhang protective bund on Sargodha Road has become a big problem for the residents of the area as water leaks through it. However, Jhang District Headquarters is still in danger for a couple of days. Army troops are carrying out a rescue operation in the area.
The district administration has set up 18 relief camps for the flood-affected people. Rescue 1122 staff is also busy in a rescue operation in the badly affected areas. In Jhang 81 persons were rescued by army helicopters and 1,380 others were rescued through boats on Wednesday. According to ISPR, besides rescue, 24.9 tonnes of ration was also dropped by army helicopters. Seven villages of Kabeerwala Tehsil were submerged by floodwater on Wednesday. The flooded villages include Mauza Ahamd Bad Pul, Mauza Khair Din, Mauza Basti Sadiq Hiraj, Moza Pir Sial, Mauza Chuk Norang Shah and Mauza Janub Mirali, etc.
DPO Rana Ayyaz Saleem told newsmen that 12 base camps and 20 flood relief camps have been set up in the tehsil to provide relief to flood victims. He said police teams were shifting people from flood-hit areas to safer places. Meanwhile, as many as 309 villages were damaged and more than 2,000 acres of land was inundated due to flood in seasonal nullahs and torrential rains in the district. Official sources told APP on Wednesday that about 31 persons had died and a large number of people were injured in rain- and flood-related incidents in Sialkot, Daska, Pasrur and Sambrial tehsils of the district.
Chaprar was the worst affected area of Sialkot District where crops, including paddy crop, on a vast agriculture land were damaged and houses had also been badly damaged. The floodwater is still stands in fields, houses and streets in different rural areas. Sialkot and Gujranwala divisions are worst-affected, whereas Narowal, Wazirabad, Sargodha, Nankana Sahib, Jhang, Jhelum, Chiniot, Khoshab districts are partially affected. Evacuation from the areas is still in progress with thousands still stranded. Reports said at least 2,000 people have been shifted to government-run relief camps.
The floods have also affected Gilgit-Baltistan too. At least 200 villages of Hafizabad district are reportedly inundated as authorities continued to evacuate more villages. Special Advisor to Punjab Chief Minister Khawaja Muhammad Mansha Ullah Butt said Wednesday that relief work in flood- and rain-affected areas was in full swing and dry food, water and medical facilities were being provided to the affected population. Floodwaters entered Jhang on Tuesday as raging waters of Chenab and Jhelum rivers continued to wreak havoc.
Thousands of villages in Chiniot, Jhang, Khushab, Kabirwala, Old Chichawatni and Sargodha have been submerged in the floodwaters which have made their way into Bhawana city. Hundreds of villages have been swallowed up by water as dozens of safety barriers ruptured. Around 400,000 cusecs floodwater reached River Chenab at Head Trimmu Tuesday morning and the water level is rising constantly. Flood peak of 810,000 cusecs was likely to reach the barrage Tuesday night and was expected to engulf Sargodha, Khushab, Jhang and Toba Tek Sing. In a bid to save the barrage, decision was made to break the Athara Hazari barrier and the nearby villages have been evacuated. The high flood is to stay at Head Trimmu till tomorrow.
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