Lahore:
Another section of the Multan-Sukkur motorway (M-5) near Jalalpur Pirwala was swept away by flood waters, deepening the disturbances of southern Punjab already in shock of what managers describe as the worst floods since 1956.
According to the motorway police, the oriental track of the highway collapsed after a violation caused by the powerful debit of the Sutlej river heading to the Chenab. The western track had already been swept away earlier in the week.
Police staff of the highway and National Highway Authority (NHA) remain on the site with heavy machines, placing rocks in order to slow the advance of water.
The M-5 has now been closed for over a week between Multan and Jhangra. The authorities have issued a diversion plan: Multan travelers in Sukkur are redirected from the exchange of Shah Shams to the national motorway and can join the highway at Uch Sharif. Vehicles from Sukkur to Multan are reached in the opposite order. Officials have stressed that road users and road users are deployed to guide motorists.
Meanwhile, the girter of the provincial Punjab Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Girector, Irfan Ali Kathia, said that the flood was most serious since 1956.
Addressing the media, he noted that the management of excessive flows in the Sutlej rivers, Chenab and Ravi had simultaneously outdated defenses. In Qadirabad Headworks on the Chenab, the volumes of water exceeded 1.05 million cuses against a capacity of 900,000. Similar overvoltages occurred in Sidhnai on the delight and in certain parts of the Sutlej, where the water levels have remained dangerously raised for days.
Kathia explained that the high waters extended in the Chenab prevented the entries of the Ravi and Sutlej from moving downstream, forcing reflux which created breaches with several heads of the head. He also underlined the construction of natural navigable pathways as a major reason why entire colonies have been submerged. In southern Punjab, he said, many residents ignored the first warnings, leaving the authorities under intense pressure to perform last minute rescues.
More than 4.7 million people in Punjab were affected by floods, with 2.2 million evacuation in safer areas. Some 300,000 mud houses and 83,000 brick houses were damaged in 27 districts.
Head Minister Maryam Nawaz has announced a rescue set for people affected. Families whose houses have been partially damaged will receive 500,000 rupees, while those who have lost their houses will fully receive Rs. 1 million. Compensation for livestock goes from Rs. 150,000 to Rs. 500,000 per animal, and farmers will be paid Rs. 20,000 per acre for destroyed crops.
