The fate of hundreds of thousands of people in Pakistan's southern Sindh province lies with a 90-year-old barrage that directs the flow of water from the mighty Indus River into one of the world's largest irrigation systems. The government has declared an emergency to deal with floods caused by record monsoon rains that have affected nearly 33 million people -- many whose livelihoods depend on the Indus. The colonial-era Sukkur Barrage "has completed 90 years, whereas it had a 50-year guarantee," Syed Khursheed Shah, Pakistan's Minister for Water Resources, tells AFP. "So we are 40 years beyond its guaranteed life." IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES