HYDERABAD   -  Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah inaugurated the restoration of natural water channels from Dhoro Puran to Shakoor Lake to save 1.27 million acres of land. He said that the federal government constructed the Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD) during the 1980s, but the excavation of its Spinals blocked the natural waterways.

As a result, the lands of Badin, Mirpurkhas, Sanghar and Nawabshah started submerging during floods and degraded, turning saline, the wetland ecosystem was completely damaged, and livelihood opportunities shrank. Keeping in view these problems, particularly the livelihoods and the damaged wetland ecosystem, the Sindh government has decided to revive the natural route of Dhoro Puran to construct a Spinal Escape regulator at RD 210 and rehabilitate Dhoro Puran up to Shakoor Lake, he added.

CM expressed this while speaking at the public gathering after inaugurating the LBOD system, Sindh minister for irrigation Jam Khan Shoro, Secretary Irrigation Zareef Khero, elected representatives of the area and the notables attended the program.

 The CM, sharing the background of the LBOD project, informed that from 1984 to 1997, the LBOD Stage-I project was executed by Wapda to relieve waterlogging and salinity in 1.27 million acres of land in Shaheed Benazirabad, Mirpurkhas, Sanghar and Basin Districts.  He maintained that the LBOD spinal drain connects the drainage network to the sea through a tidal link. The LBOD spinal drain collects surplus drainage and distributes it through a weir to two branch drains, the Kadhan Pateji Outfall Drain (KPOD) and the Dhoro Puran Outfall Drain (DPOD). He added that the spinal drain system was designed to direct the high salinity drainage into the KPOD and then to the sea. The KPOD connects to the sea via a 26-mile-long canal, called the Tidal Link.  The CM said that 204 drains from three divisions, totalling 1735 miles in length, would discharge into the LBOD. These include 108 drains from Badin, spanning 813 miles, 51 drains from Mirpurkhas, covering 454 miles and 43 drains from Sanghar, extending over 336.6 miles.

He recalled that the Wapda handed over the LBOD Spinal to the Sindh irrigation department in 1993, but the system could not perform and caused damage during the heavy rains of the 1994 monsoon. Therefore, the system was returned to WAPDA in 1995. WAPDA handed over the LBOD System again to the Sindh irrigation department in February 2002.

Murad Ali Shah stated that the LBOD project includes a Spinal Drain of 261.12 km, KPOD/DPOD of 99 km, Tidal Link of 43 km, Surface Drains of 1666 km and 1673 Drainage wells. Its benefited area was spread over 1.270 million acres. Talking about the conceptualization and problems, Shah said that on July 4, 2022, heavy rain began and the LBOD’s drainage network efficiently carried storm water to its outfalls. He added that the drains worked effectively due to desilting and de-weeding processes.

He said the LBOD system was intended to manage 125 mm of rainfall in 48 hours with a five-day evacuation period. He added that the recent heavy rainfall of 2020 and 2022 caused widespread devastation and exposed the defects, shortcomings and vulnerabilities of the existing drainage system on the left bank of the river Indus. Shah said that the people of districts Badin, Mirpurkhas, Sanghar and Nawabshah have always suffered due to flooding as their lands have been degraded and turned into saline, besides the wetland ecosystem was completely damaged and degraded and livelihood opportunities have shrunk.  

During monsoon 2022, the spinal gauges have raised over to their ever-maximum gauges of 2011. The spinal was designed for passing 4600 causes, whereas at present about 12000 causes water passing through it to sea Breaches in the LBOD system.  

All dhoras currently flowing within the LBOD system, including Pithoro, Hakro, Naro, Digri, Puran and Pangrio, follow their old natural routes, ultimately combining into Dhoro Puran and out falling into Shakoor Lake. The LBOD spinal drain intersects this natural drainage route at four locations, RD 275, RD 251, RD 239 and RD 210.

 He stated that after the revival of natural dhoras through the construction of siphons and the rehabilitation of the LBOD system, the excess load on the spinal drain will be alleviated and this will lower the spinal drain levels, providing unimpeded access to the main drains of the LBOD system, including the drainage networks of Nawabshah, Sanghar, Mirpurkhas and Badin.

The high flood level of the spinal drain recorded in 2022 was 27.53 feet and the top level has now increased by 4 feet, reaching 31.53 feet, he added. The CM further said that several left-over areas, including Khipro, Umerkot, Dighri, Sindhri and Tando Mohammad Khan lack drainage systems. Consequently, these areas experience flooding during heavy rainfall.

Shah said that once the dhoras were activated and rehabilitated, drainage systems for the leftover areas will be constructed and connected to the dhoras.  This network will eventually discharge into Shakoor Lake following a natural drainage route.

 According to Murad Shah the construction of syphons and rehabilitation of the LBOD system will mitigate the risk of flooding in surrounding areas, enhancing the safety and well-being of local communities. By addressing drainage issues, the project will protect agricultural lands from water-logging and flooding, ensuring more stable and productive farming conditions, and supporting farmers’ livelihoods.

Sindh irrigation minister Jam Khan Shoro and MPA Arbab Lutuf also spoke on the occasion while secretary Irrigation Zareef Khero played a documentary made on LBOD, its issues and resolutions. Ealier, the chief minister inaugurated LBOD Syphons to revive the old natural route. The  provincial minister irrigation Jam Khan Shoro briefed the CM about the technical works carried out by the irrigation department.