Breaches at Tori and Marchand Surgani: Qaim orders suspension of 12 Irrigation Department officials

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah on Wednesday ordered suspension of some 12 officials of Sindh Irrigation department for negligence of duty during the recent floods. The decision was made in the light of Commission report on 'protective embankments breaches', which was unveiled by CM Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah along with Jam Saifullah Dharejo, provincial Irrigation Minister and his Advisor on Information Sharmila Farooqui at a press conference held at CM house here.
Addressing to media, Qaim said the two-member-commission comprising former Justice Zahid Qurban Alvi and former Justice Ghulam Nabi Soomro has submitted its report regarding investigation into the alleged breaches at the two protective embankments of the Tori and Marchand Surgani (MS) bunds.
He said the commission in its report has ascertained that the breaches in the Tori and MS bunds during the recent floods were neither artificial nor man-made. He further said the two-member-commission took more than two months to compile its report, which was based on the evidences collected from the statements of over 100 people including the inhabitants of those areas.
He said the report showed that the breaches in the Tori and MS bunds was not artificial but natural reasons, adding that the poor maintenance of bunds and high water-flow, which was reached to 1.18 million cusecs during the recent floods, have caused the embankments breaches.
Qaim said the commission has recommended that the responsible officials of Sindh irrigation department should voluntarily resign, due to negligence of duty and lack of supervision. Moreover, the Sindh CM said that the commission report, which would be submitted in the Supreme Court on Thursday (today), was realistic hence, he has suspended some 12 officials of the Sindh Irrigation department and initiated inquiry against them to take responsible persons to task.
He opined that some points, which were highlighted in the report, might be deferred after completion of its review. However, he said that the responsibility of the maintenance of the embankments of river Indus also lies on the Indus River Commission. He further said the provincial government had consulted with the federal government and retired senior officials of its irrigation department to discuss all unexpected circumstances immediately after the floods started.
CM said that the Sindh government had also taken the representatives of the international agencies and the officials of the weather department on board to prevent the devastation caused by the unprecedented floods. He said that the Sindh government would also approach the federal government to register its complaint regarding the poor performance of Indus River Commission on account of bunds' maintenance.