LAHORE:
Another section of the Fine-Sukkur (M-5) highway near Jalpur Pirwala has been dragged by floods, deepening the interruptions in southern Punjab already staggering what officials describe as the worst flood since 1956.
According to the highway police, the eastern route of the highway collapsed after a rape caused by the powerful flow of the Sutlej River that is directed towards Chenab. The western track had already been dragged earlier for the week.
The highways of the highways and the National Highway Authority (NHA) remain in the site with heavy machinery, placing rocks in an effort to delay the advance of water.
The M-5 has been closed for more than a week between fine and Jhana. The authorities have issued a fun plan: travelers who are going to Sukkur are being redirected from the exchange of Shah Shams to the National Highway and can join the highway in Uch Sharif. Vehicles that come from Sukkur towards fine are redirecting in reverse order. The officials emphasized that the patrols and officers of the road users are deployed to guide motorists.
Meanwhile, the Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Irfan Ali Kathia General Totractor said that floods are the most severe since 1956.
Speaking to the media, he said that the management of excessive flows in the Sutlej, Chenab and Ravi rivers simultaneously had overwhelmed defenses. In Qadirabad Headworks in Chenab, water volumes exceeded 1.05 million CUSECs against a capacity of 900,000. Similar waves occurred in Sidhnai in Ravi and in parts of the Sutlej, where water levels remained dangerously high for days.
Kathia explained that the prolonged high waters in Chenab prevented Ravi and Sutlej from moving downstream, forcing the backward flows that created violations in several heads. He also pointed out the construction of natural river paths as an important reason why entire settlements were submerged. In southern Punjab, he said, many residents ignored the first warnings, leaving the authorities under intense pressure to perform last minute bailouts.
More than 4.7 million people in Punjab have been affected by floods, with 2.2 million evacuated to safer areas. Some 300,000 clay houses and 83,000 brick houses were damaged in 27 districts.
Prime Minister Maryam Nawaz has announced a help package for those affected. Families whose houses were partially damaged will receive RS500,000, while those who lost their homes will completely receive RS. 1 million. Compensation for livestock varies from RS. 150,000 to RS. 500,000 per animal, and farmers will be paid RS. 20,000 per acre for destroyed crops.
