Flood Fears Loom As Water Level In Mahanadi Rises, 34 Sluice Gates Of Hirakud Opened

Bhubaneswar: With the water level of the Hirakud reservoir in Odisha’s Sambalpur rising since Wednesday, the authorities opened a total of 34 sluice gates as of Sunday to release excess floodwaters, triggering fears of flood.

According to sources, the water level of Hirakud Dam stood at 616.56 ft at 6 am on Sunday as against the full reservoir level of 630 ft. The inflow of water into the dam was 5,41,988 cusecs while the outflow was 5,61,054 cusecs per second.

It is likely that more gates will be opened if needed, said sources.

Around 1,500 people from low-lying areas have been evacuated and moved to safer locations.

Heavy rainfall in the upper catchment areas of the river in Chhattisgarh has also raised the water level in Mahanadi.

The Odisha government has warned of a small-scale flood in the Mahanadi river.

Engineer-in-Chief (Water Resources) Bijaya Kumar Mishra warned of a minor flood by August 15 morning.

Mishra said more gates will be opened if rainfall continues in the upper and lower catchment areas. Around 6 lakh cusecs of water will reach the Mundali barrage by Sunday and around 7 lakh cusecs will reach the barrage by August 15 morning, causing a minor flood, he said.

Ringing alarm bells among authorities and villagers living in low-lying areas, swollen rivers have started breaching the danger mark at several places in Odisha following incessant rain, sparking fears of flood.

It is pertinent to mention that floodwaters in Sonepur has affected communication between Birmaharajpur and Sambalpur. Floodwaters have entered low-lying areas and villages in Sonepur.

Similarly, water in Baitarani river is now flowing above the danger mark near Akhuapada. Besides, floodwaters have reportedly submerged the bridge connecting Harichandanpur-Daitari in Keonjhar.