Deadline given by protesters for excavation of the spillway ends today
Images: Zulfiqar Ali Khan
Islamabad, June 28 (PT): The promise of expanding the spillway and ensuring discharge of 40,000 Cusecs of water out of the dammed Hunza River within ten days could not be completed by the National Disaster Management Authority.
The current water discharge out of the lake is around 15000 Cusecs.
Water level has receded in the upstream valleys by around 13 inches during the last two days.
Volunteers, including women, have vowed to reach the lake barrier and start expansion work. Government, on the other hand, has said that people would not be allowed to work on the spillway.
It is pertinent to note here that yesterday a group of people belonging to Shishkat and Ayeenabad warned of collective suicide, by jumping in the lake in groups of five, if the spillway was not expanded immediately. They said that the government is willingly not expanding the spillway under political pressure from a powerful lobby despite of knowing the fact that controlled blasts can not breach the lake destructively.
They said that the already cracked portions of the spillway on either sides can be collapsed earlier and size of the spillway increased.
Around 200 houses and thousands of Kanals of cultivated land has been destroyed by the surging lake in the upstream Gojal Valley.
Last opportunity to take rational and tough decision. Ya Ali Madad lets start our traditional method. With this take the administration in confidence about life saving measures, Volunteers from Chipurson to Shinaki should take part.
We must think about the remaining people living in down stream. As NDA chairman clearly said on his last visit to HunzaNagar that it will be more disastrous, if expansion is made on explosive bases. No doubt the people of Gojal are in real trouble our sympathies are with them and we the people living in the other parts of GB are standing with the effecties, and hope government shall do reasonable arrangements for the effecties. However taking the law and order situation in our own hands cannot not be justified at any circumstances.We must try to create harmony among all the people living specially in Hunza Nagar via your comments and try to avoid blaming each others.
It was not Gojali’s fault that they are paying for the last 6 months. Can you even imagine your home which your forefathers have build vanish before your eyes and you are compelled to live in a tent with nothing left for your survival.
Are you still waiting for the summer peak flow in the Hunza River, who can guarantee if the deteriorating blockage collapses with about 1.5 million cubic meter of water added with some 20000 cusec of water adding every second??????
What have you done for the Gojalis for the last 176 days and nights of distress and sufferings and why do you expect us to care for you??????
The Govt is still not doing any thing just watching.the deadline finished today.Now we have to use our traditional method which Sir Rehmat has written to start working from tommorrow no more option is remaining now.for this we need colloboration and unity not like in the previouse months in which case was being registered on our youths i dont think that the Govt will do something for us.therefore we needs our own help.
Widening of spillway without technical studies and using explosions to widen it is serious matter and not something that can be done over cup of tea. Look at the remain landslide mass still hanging over Attabad. Even Dr Dave had advice that we should be careful and NDMA is being careful. let us face it, this landslide barrier has defied all technical calculations
Emotions should not take over careful thinking.
Personally I feel,that with increase melt of glaciers in next 30 days, water inflow will increase and may be also the outflow. If this does not happen, sadly we should be prepare for living with the lake. let us leave things to nature and technical decision to NDMA and FOCUS experts.
may be FOCUS and NDMA should again invite Dr Dave to come to Attabad.we all trust his honest advice.
It would be very helpful to know what date, and what time of day, these photographs taken. The channel looks somewhat different than what appears in a recent video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYxj7SmZAA0), but unless we know when each were taken, it is difficult to know if the differences are due to erosion, or just changes in the water flow due to changes in the water level. – Thanks
Please, please do not jump into the spillway — it is a terribly brutal way to die. I have fallen into rapids, been battered by rocks, spent considerable time underwater with a lifejacket on. It is truly dreadful.
please dont jump in water , life is precoius and Allah forbid s to do this .
Suicide is not the answer.
Suicide in any form and for any cause is cowardice and sin. Besides, its not going to solve the problem. The responsible people who are causing the delay will ofcourse feel bad for few days and try expedite the matter; but after few days the issue will die and they will forget. The families of the suiciders will be the losers and suffer forever.
I appeal to all those who are leading or supporting this horrendous move, they should take some bold and offensive action instead, which should lead them to solve the issue.
Save a Life.
At this point I would be extremely cautious about landing boats on the right bank ramp close to the spillway as one photo shows a distinct crosscurrent that could suck a boat down into the spillway. I have seen exactly that happen in similar situations.
If a number of boats approach that ramp at the same time, it’s quite possible that all the boats except the first could be swept into the spillway.
It looks like a tempting easy landing place, but at these high flows it’s a deathtrap.
I would request my villagers(shishkatians) please! not to act pigheadedly as you are always doing. It is the time to work and show unity and don’t think such destructive ways. Govt has no concern of your lives so don’t try to act like moronis, think and use your knowledge and act accordingly. At last you have lost every property so please don’t loose your livingness.