LARKANA: An official of the irrigation department disclosed before the Sindh High Court, Larkana circuit bench, on Wednesday the Indus River was changing its course from left to right bank at Hakra ferry point dyke but the situation was under control.

Munir Morio, executive engineer of Northern Dadu division, made the revelation in his comments on a petition submitted to a division bench of Justices Khadim Hussain Shaikh and KhadimHussain Tunio. The petition was filed by a villager, Wazir Ali Hulio, who lived near the ferry point dyke.

The engineer who filed the comments on behalf of chief engineer after the official failed to turn up at the hearing rejected the petitioner`s contention that the erosion attheferrypoint dyke was 20 feet wide and one and a half kilometre long and said it was only three furlongs from mile 16/4 to 16/7 Larl(ana-Sehwan dyke.

He said that the river`s changing course was read as its `alluvial behaviour` which was natural.The bench asked the irrigation department to expedite work on the dyke to avoid a repeat of the 2010 floods and directed the petitioner`s lawyer Irshad Chandio to file a rejoinder to the executive engineer`s comments.

Mr Morio said that the river was flowing at the base of the LarkanaSehwan dyke at the ferry point.

The huge quantity of stone boulders dumped at the site during the 2016 floods had greatly helped contain the `critical situation`, he said.

He said that there were proposals for the construction of a stone apron and stone pitching along LSdyke from mile 16/0 to 17/0 and the construction of T-head spurs at Hakra point to reinforce the dyke.

If the scheme, which had been submitted to the secretary of irrigation on May 2, was approved, the work on diverting the river course away from Hakra ferry point would be initiated on a war footing, he said.

He said the Indus River Commission (IRC) had in its meetingonSept30,2015,approvedthe proposal for stone-pitching and spurs and it was submitted to the Federal Flood Commission but unfortunately, it was not considered to date.He said that again, the chief engineer of right bank of Sukkur Barrage formed a subcommittee of IRC on March 1, which recommended necessary measures along the LS dyke at Hakra ferry point after visiting and studying the proposals.

He said the proposed work for diverting the river`s course away from the dyke would be carried out before the flood season.

The engineer requested the bench to dismiss the petition saying it was baseless, misconceived and not maintainable.

The court would hear the petition on May 17.