WB experts advise construction of climate resilient infrastructure.

DADU -- The World Bank's support mission, currently visiting the province, said on Thursday that climate resilient infrastructure be given top priority in Sindh, which was battered twice by flood disasters in 2010 and 2022.

The mission led by Task Team Leader for Sindh Flood Emergency Reha-bilitation Project, Ahsan Tehsin, which attended technical briefing on strengthening, and raising of Flood Protective embankment at Hamal Lake in Fareedabad town damaged by last year's flashflood, said that Pakistan was badly affected by climate change induced disasters like floods, droughts, cyclones and heat-wave and Sindh was the worst affected.

'Flash floods that originated in Balochistan caused havoc on the right bank of Indus River and mainly the districts of Dadu, Qambar-Shahdadkot and Jamshoro,' said Shamsul Haq Jafrani, member of the mission, said during the briefing.

He said that World Bank through the Sindh Flood Emergency Rehabilitation Project was supporting the province by rehabilitating and strengthening damaged irrigation and drainage infrastructure,' he said.

Under the project cuts were plugged on an emergency basis to drain out floodwater and enable farmers to cultivate wheat crop along FP and Suprio dykes, said Jafrani.

He said that in the second phase of the project, rehabilitation and strengthening of the FP dyke was being undertaken to enable it to withstand the pressure of flashfloods in future.

He said the work had been started on FP dyke to protect big towns and barrage area of the province from floodwater coming from Balochistan,' said Aijaz Shaikh, an irrigation expert of World Bank.

He said that following experiences of last year's flood, the FP dyke was being raised by four feet with stone pitching. The FP bund in Sindh was 182 kilometers long and it was 48 kilometers in Balochistan. In last year's floods 15 to 18 feet high floodwater overtopped the dyke and caused breaches and widespread damage...