ISLAMABAD: As Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gillani declared the next 24 hours very critical for Multan, Chenab was in very high flood at Chiniot with a flow of 524,594 cusecs which again threatens the downstream areas.
The raging Chenab River means situation is worsening at the Sher Shah Bridge and Muhammad Wala Headworks, with dozens of villages and settlements already inundated.
On the other hand, the waterflow at Panjnad — the point where the five rivers meet — was 310,479 cusecs, representing high flood. But the flood surge in Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej moving downstream, situation will worsen at Panjnad.
The Chenab River has already inundated farmlands and villages along its routes from Gujrat and Wazirabad in the north to Chiniot, Jhang and Multan in the south.
On the other hand, the Sutlej River in eastern Punjab, which is expected to receive more monsoon downpours from Saturday, had been stayed in exceptionally high flood at Ganda Singh Wala, as the Flood Forecasting Division (FFD) data showed that the waterflow was 311,673 cusecs at 3pm.
That’s why Sutlej is submerging more and more villages and settlements in Kasur and in the downstream areas, forcing the authorities to breach dykes to release pressure.
But the raging waters are also sweeping away protective levees in the process.
Meanwhile, this sustained exceptionally high flood level in Sutlej is a result of India releasing water from the reservoirs after persistent rains in the catchment areas.
INDUS WATERS TREATY
With Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s far-right government suspending the Indus Waters Treaty illegally after the Pahalgam attack, New Delhi has been relying on sharing information through diplomatic channels.
And on Friday, the Indian external affairs ministry, according to Reuters, again said that they had been sharing flood data with Pakistan through diplomatic channels.
