Sambalpur: Two more gates of Hirakud dam were opened on Monday night to release excess water from the reservoir, taking the total number of gates opened to six.
According to reports, the people of Hirakud, Sambalpur and Burla area were alerted by the district administration before opening of the gates.
The dam authorities are keeping a close watch on the situation. If needed, more gates will be opened in a phased manner to release excess water. As of now, there is no possibility of flood in the downstream, they added.
While the storage capacity of the reservoir is 628.40 ft, it was one foot above the level on Monday morning and at 629.23 ft in the evening.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD)’s regional centre in Bhubaneswar has warned of heavy rainfall till Thursday under the influence of a low-pressure area that has formed over northwest and adjoining westcentral Bay of Bengal off Odisha-West Bengal coasts on Monday and is likely to become a well-marked low-pressure area on Tuesday.
Orange warning has been issued for very heavy rainfall from 8.30 am September 20 till 8.30 am September 21 in nine districts including Sambalpur, Sonepur, Boudh, Bargarh, Balangir, Angul, Deogarh, Sundargarh and Jharsuguda.
Likewise, yellow warning for heavy rainfall has been issued for Cuttack, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Nayagarh, Kalahandi, Kandhamal and Nuapada in the same period.
