The decision of Sindh government engaging experts on flood management and sustainability of 50 years old Guddu Barrage, having three canals, Begari Sindh Feeder, Desert Pat Feeder and Ghotki feeder plus under construction controversial Reni canal, for another 70 to 80 years is well-advised. According to agreement, signed by the irrigation department with a foreign firm the study will be carried out under the World Bank-funded Water Sector Improvement Programme. The WB programme envisages conducting studies on all the barrages of Sindh starting with Guddu barrage, which has a designed capacity of 1.2 million cusec. However, such studies will not help in saving the structure of decades old Barrages from onslaught of super floods unless ill-designed/ill-structured bridges constructed on Indus down Sukkar Barrage, one linking Larkana with Khairpur and the other Dadu with Moro are not restructured immediately. One of the major causes of immeasurable destruction was slow discharge of water flow from Guddu and Sukkar downward Kotri Barrage as enormous body of flood water was amassed in-between Sukkur barrage and Larkana-Khairpur and Dadu Moro Bridge. The slow discharge of water was on account of narrow span of two bridges which trapped the water; putting structures of both the Barrages under tremendous pressure. It created whirlpool type of situation for more than a month which had shaken the foundations of these two barrages. In my opinion unless four extra flood gates are added, two on either side of Larkana-Khairpur and Dadu-Moro bridge, no matter what schemes or studies are made and at whatever cost, the barrages will have to bear the brunt of future supper floods, which may even cause their destruction. The barrages are life-line of Sindh and can be saved from annihilation only if unobstructed flow of water is allowed under the Bridges of Larkana-Khairpur and Dadu-Moro downward to Kotri. I therefore invite attention of the Chief Minster and Irrigation Minster Sindh to take notice of such grave matter of national importance and ensure that studies carried out by the foreign experts included the construction of extra gates in the Larkana-Khairpur and Dadu Moro Bridges so as to lessen the massive pressure of water on Guddu and Sukkar Barrage in the coming monsoon which according to the metrological department would be an every year feature for some time to come because of climatic changes. D. M JATOI, Karachi, March 27.