Left Bank out Fall Drain (LBOD)

(Problem or Solution)
Back Ground:
Indus civilization has oldest known history in the World based on agriculture with
fresh/ irrigation water supplies of Indus River; this irrigation was practiced through
lift irrigation system from inundation canals, such as Nara !huleli or within the
riverine area" Indus River in #indh $lows on Ridge (Means above Natural Surface
Level), with limited population the system was working well as depressions %Dhoro-
Dhoras) used to act as irrigation channels in flooding and the same as drainage
channels in dry #easons" With the increase in population and new settlements, the
then &overnment felt the need of enhancement of irrigation system to produce enough
food to feed the increased population, supported by presence of huge fertile plans"
' ma(or programme of improvement and construction of new inundation canals was
under taken in the latter half of the nineteenth century but it was not until )*+, that
barrage commanded irrigation was introduced with the construction of the #ukkur
-arrage system commanding a gross area of some eight million acres on the left and
right banks of River Indus" .ater two other barrages /otri %)*001 and &uddu %)*2,1
were built in the system as it is today"
3he new controlled Irrigation #ystem changed the virgin barren lands into fertile
agricultural lands" 3he investment for construction of #ukkur -arrage system was
arranged by -ritish rulers of #indh province as a loan from -ritish &overnment of
India, to be returned in ,4 years but due to huge revenue collection as a result of
increased cultivation, that loan was returned in (ust 0 to 2 years"
't that time nobody considered the need of drainage system in #indh, ignoring the
fact that before artificial irrigation arrangements soil of #indh province was getting
irrigation through inundation canals once in year, only during floods, with
introduction of controlled irrigation system round the year with full cultivation and
e5istence of 6lay #oil would aggravate the rise in water table and soil salinization due
to dry weather" 's envisaged, the full year availability of irrigation water and large
scale cultivation practices initiated the rise in underground water tables accompanying
with salinization of lands" 3his problem was first identified in )*0*" Initially studies
were carried out to assess the problem, starting from 7istrict /hairpur and afterwards
covering whole #indh" 3hese comprehensive studies were conducted by 8/s 9unting
6o in collaboration with 8ott 8acdonald 6onsultants under .ower Indus
7evelopment !ro(ect %.I!1 )*22, funded by World -ank" .I! report is pronounced as
most authentic base line data for any Irrigation and 7rainage !ro(ect in #indh"
.eft -ank out $all 7rain %.-:71 was first proposed in .ower Indus report to collect
and carry the discharge from agriculture fields of left bank of River Indus to the #ea
passing through Run of /utch" 'fter various studies from )*2* until )*;) considering
different variations in size, capacities and alignments, 7esign of .-:7 was finalized"
-y )*;,, W'!7' started construction of #pinal 7rain and )44 mile length was
achieved including an outfall using defunct 7horo !uran" (Before construction of
Irrigation system these Dhoras were Inunation !hannels carrying floo water to
"un of #utch but of irregular alignments an be levels they were not serving the
$ur$ose of rain for removal of saline water an rain water from agriculture area),
this is the reason why !uran 7horo was not used as whole for drainage channel but
some parts of it was used as .-:7<#pinal 7rain :ut<$all, and was connected to
7horo !uran, named as 7horo !uran :ut $all 7rain %7!:71"
Comparison of Water Table Depths
It is a knowon reality that the lands in -adin used to remain under water for more than
si5 month before .-:7 was constructed" 3he standup water for longer period created
a serious problem of water logging on .eft -ank, especially -adin 7istrict"
'griculture lands in -adin were turned into marshy sumps"

3o address the problems of water logging, a large number of saline 3ubewells were
installed in Nawabshah, 8irpurkhas and #anghar districts, which helped a lot in
reclaiming the lands in these districts" Now all these three districts are ma(or produce
of cash crops contributing to the agrarian economy of #indh and !akistan" :ne can
think that these 3ubewells, pumped out the saline water of electrical conductivity %=6
>alue1 ranging from 20444 million moles to *,444 million moles, as the #ea Water
#alinity is about +,444 million moles"
$or draining out such highly saline water into 7!:7 and ultimately to #hakoor
7hand (%stuarine water boy& La'e in "un of #utch istribute by (a'istan Inian
International Borer) was ob(ected by Indian &overnment and it was also against
=nvoirmental #tandards followed by the 7onor 'gencies" #o ultimately .-:7 #pinal
was connected with already working /adhan !ate(i out $all 7rain %/!:71 and that
was designed to convey this highly #aline effluent to #hah #amando 6reek of 'rabian
:cean passing through /adhan !ate(i 7hand 6omple5, to cure the =nvoirmental
9azards two weirs were also designed and constructed" :ne was constructed at
7!:7 at start where its purpose was to stop the saline effluent going into #hakoor
7hand in 7ry #eason and allow $lood #torm Water bye passing it (Saline water use
to flow low in ry times)" #econd weir was big one called 6holri Weir, constructed to
maintain water level of /adhan !ate(i 7hand 6omple5 through which /!:7 was
passing, its purpose was to avoid #aline Water intrusion in that system and allow
#torm water to refresh it" (Later in )**+ !holri ,eir also colla$se ue to -ial
Scouring an !onnecte -ial Lin' with #ahan (ate.i Dhan !om$le/)0
!ap of "#OD$ D#OD and Tidal Link
Initially this system was designed to provide drainage facility to )"+ million acres
covering parts of Nawabshah, #anghar and 8irpurkhas" Whereas, -adin was already
covered with /otri -arrage #urface 7rains that were connected with .-:7 #pinal
7rain and 3idal .ink"
8ain 6omponents of .-:7 !ro(ect were a1 #pinal 7rain and 3idal .ink; b1
Nawabshah #ub 6omponent; c1 #anghar #ub 6omponent; d1 8irpurkhas #ub
6omponent and d1 Irrigation works
In )**2 this system was fully operational, draining out saline water and reclaiming
and improving 'griculture of #indh ("eference 1griculture Statistics 2oSinh an
Soil Monitoring "e$orts by SM3)0
#roblem:
#rimar%& Basic #roblem of .-:7 is ownership" #ince its inception .-:7 was not
owned" It was thought to be a curse although it was continuously working on gravity
flow basis, #econdly system handed it over to Irrigation 7ept &o#indh was not able
to maintain or conduct its operation maintenance" .ater it was handed over to #indh
Irrigation 7rainage 'uthority without any significant addition of :8 $unds"
:peration 8aintenance of any system needs continuous supply of funds, in system
these funds are generated from Revenues of Irrigated and 6ultivated 'rea"

'econdar% #roblem( 7uring early years of completion, there were complaints of #ea
Intrusion in 3idal .ink and its bed was eroding, after continuous observation it was
found that 3idal .ink as following theme of its name is working on 9igh 3ide and
.ow 3ide phenomena" 9igh 3ide continues for ; hours, blocks the drainage effluent
to go into sea creating back water curve, (,hich results ue obstruction of flow with
continuous rise of hyraulic hea at u$ stream of obstruction, if not controlle further
results in Damage of Structures)0 7uring low tide for )2 hours drainage water speeds
up to #ea causing erosion to channel bed"
7uring 9igh 3ide and #torm $lood 7rainage second problem back flow of drainage
effluent of /otri -arrage #urface 7rain from /!:7 into ad(acent areas of -adin" It?s
also a series issue"
Lack of )nforcement$ 3his actually means intervention of local people for short term
benefits causing long term losses" Now when #ub<#urface #ystem of .-:7 %3ube
Wells1 is not operational, .-:7 is used by people of @pstream for draining surplus
agriculture waste water" Nowadays down stream $armers give cuts to .-:7 #pinal
7rain where ever it is ad(acent to 7horo !uran and use these 7horas for #torage and
further use that water for agriculture" 3han during heavy rains when .-:7 starts
flowing at $ull #upply .evel it breaches from the same spot, following Images may
clear the picture"
*ma+e of LBOD 'pinal Drain near ,aukot

!a+nified *ma+e of 'ame 'pot sho-in+ Cuts in LBOD and Water
'tora+e at both 'ides
In purview of )n.oirmental /a0ards$ problem is #ugar 8ills 7rainage / Industrial
=ffluent" Right from #anghar passing through 8irpurkhas and -adin almost all the
sugar mills are producing alcohols and residues after fermentation of molasses along
with used potassium is disposed off in .-:7 #ub 7rains, 8ain 7rains and #pinal
7rain that causes -ad :dor, #kin 7iseases and other 9ealth !roblems for the !eople
living in the 'rea"
Disastrous *ncidents:
7uring the past )2 years two ma(or disasters have been reported on 3idal .ink uptill
,4)4, first was a 6yclone on ,)st 8ay )***, resulting in ,44) collapse of 6holri Weir
at 7hand 6omple5 on /!:7, and #econd was in 8onsoon rains in ,44+ causing
overtopping of #pinal 7rain near /adhan 3ando -ago" -oth the disaster have
played havoc to the system and many important lessons were learned including
remodeling and redesign of out fall drain to increase the capacity of the system to
carry large volume of storm efficiently" -eside engineering solutions, management
strategy for :8 was greatly emphasized, for e5ample, In ,44+ during 9eavy
8onsoon Rains Irrigation 6hannels like Nara 6anal were not 6losed from -arrage in
time, but when conditions were getting out of control (overto$$ing & breaches of
irrigation canals) than Irrigation 6hannels were given escape into .-:7 that was
already flowing at its full design discharge capacity of A244 cusecs, resultantly rain
flood water of about ),444 to )A444 cusecs when flowed towards sea and faced with
a 9igh<3ide (4igh--ie -iming was ignore while o$ening !anal esca$es) resulted in
overtopping of .-:7 near /adhan and brought silent death wave and inundation of
ad(acent area upto 3ando -ago and !angrio" #everal casualties and loss of agricultural
crops and livestock was also reported" -ut after one week .-:7 was the only water
way that drained out flood water back into #ea"
'fter that incident under National 7rainage !rogramme and with the help of 'rmy
=ngineering 6ore some remedial measures, as a result size of .-:7 #pinal 7rain and
8irpurkhas 8ain 7rain size was increased, after that till last year .-:7 has passed
,442 heavy rains/ floods effluent and ,4)4 rain/ flood effluent from .eft -ank also
feeding #torm/ Rain Water to 7hand 6omple5 of -adin 'rea and Indus 7elta"
#lan of LBOD (As cleared in this Map, LBOD is the only way out to
Drainage/ Flood Effluent as Rier !ndus Flows on Ridge and "ha#oor
Dhand also has li$ited capacity%
3his year 8onsoon rains started on *
th
'ugust and continued uptill 8id #eptember,
average rainfall in #indh during past )44 Bears is not beyond ),0mm but this year it
got beyond ),44 mm" .arge area starting from Nawabshah uptill -adin is inundated
although .-:7 is draining out storm water at its full level through 7!:7 and /!:7
(roughly estimate almost +5*** cusecs each from #(3D an D3(D) but the
Cuantum of Rain water is almost eCual to :ne 3arbella 7am #torage, far more than
the draining capacity of .-:7" #econdly many areas on .eft -ank are not connected
with .-:7 thus now in isolated condition filled up with water e"g" /hairpur,
Naushero feroz, /hipro, 3ando 'llahyar, 6hambar and 3ando &hulam 'li"
i) LBOD 'pinal at Balochabad$ ii) "#OD at 1ero #oint "adhan$ iii)
D#OD at Diplo "adhan 2oad
Benefits of LBOD:
.eft -ank of River Indus is hugely benefitted with construction of .-:7" In terms
soil fertility, increase in cultivated area, Increase in crop yields, increase in cropping
intensities and reduction in rain flood water drainage time" (6igures $ertaining to
Bain about !ro$s !ultivation area assesse by 1griculture De$artment 2oSinh are
also su$$orting, table as bellow)0
In above graph increase in cultivation area can clearly be observed, change in
cropping pattern is caused by water scarcity, last Red .ine of &raph is 6otton
6ultivation that has increased"
It is would be pertinent to note that before construction of .-:7 system there use to
be only one #ugar 8ill but after construction of .-:7, now almost eight #ugar mills
are working in that area" -efore .-:7 6otton 6rop was not grown in -adin area,
%"eference LI( "e$ort), now there is significant increase of 6otton 6rop, ("eference
1griculture De$artment 2oSinh Statistics -able $aste above)"
'atellite *ma+e Comparison of 'indh$ Before and 3fter 2ains
4566$

*ncreased croppin+ intensit% at "adhan Badin can be obser.ed
throu+h this *ma+e
'olution of LBOD #roblems
#olution of .-:7 !roblems was very simple, needed initiative timely intervention,
we waisted )2 Bears on politicizing the issue for short term political benefits, causing
loss of precious lives and property"
#olutions are summarized as below"
)1 :wner ship with proper regulatory authority and :8 mechanism
,1 !rotection of -adin from 3idal effect"
a) 6onstruction of 3idal -and / 7ike on Right #ide of /!:7 uptill #hah
#amando 6reek ultimately plugging it and disconnecting its direct connection
with 3ides" (-his o$tion is also wor'e out by N%S(1# in its 6easibility
"e$ort )**7 an wiely su$$orte by (eo$le& Sta'e 4olers of Bain)0
#ame kind of !roblem of 3idal action was faced in 7ubai while construction
of 8ega #tructure called World Islands, #ea 3ides started eroding their
artificial islands, they tackled it with constructing a Rock Wall in steps, and
-asic 6oncept was to break tidal energy with decreasing the depth of Water"
9ere in this case this option is naturally available on the .eft side of /!:7 in
form of plains of Run of /utch ending into sea in shape of creeks" 3his option
will also help rehabilitation of wet lands present at Run of /utch"
b) 8angroves 6over / !lantation on 3idal 7yke on Right -ank of 3idal .ink and
.eft -ank :pen !lans uptill the 6reeks to protect #torm Water =rosion and
also to protect from Wave 'ction caused due to Winds"

c) !lugging all the /otri -arrage #urface 7rains with &ated #tructures and
alternate arrangements of 9eavy .ift !umps with stand -y &enerators for
continuous $lood Water 7rainage" %-his $recautionary measure is in case of
continuous rain in all catchment areas an full flow levels of S$inal an to
avoi bac' flow of #otri Surface Drains)0

+1 Increasing 6apacity of .-:7 system more horizontally and less vertically,
connecting all the left over areas like &hotki, @pper Nara 6anal, /hairpur,
Naushero feroz, Nawabshah, /hipro, 3ando 'llahyar, 6hambar, 3ando &hulam
'li and 7igri for efficient and Cuick drainage"
A1 =nforcement of International =nvoirmental #tandards making .-:7
=nvoirmental friendly"