Bhubaneswar: Flood fear has once again gripped the residents of Balasore’s Basta block with Jalaka river breaching the danger mark on Friday.
At 6 this morning, the river was flowing at 6.71 metre against the danger mark of 6.50 metre at Mathani. The water level of Jalaka has been on the rise due to incessant rain for the last three days due to a low-pressure area over Bay of Bengal, which is now moved over to North Chhattisgarh.
The river has been receiving excess water from Rasgovindpur, Amarda, Gaon Amarda, Moroda, Chitrada in Mayurbhanj district and some parts of neighbouring West Bengal.
According to sources, at least 10 gram panchayats in Basta block and two in Sadar block are likely to be impacted if the current situation persists. Floodwater has already entered croplands, where paddy seedlings were recently transplanted, situated near the river. People were also seen wading through knee-deep water in Kudla village of Basta panchayat. Several roads were also flooded in the block.
The district administration is keeping a close watch on the situation, reinforcing vulnerable embankments with sandbags and stocking dry food and drinking water for emergency relief. Repeated announcements are being made urging people residing in low-lying and flood-prone areas to shift to safer ground. The tehsildars have been instructed to immediately provide polythene sheets to people affected by the deluge.
Notably, Odisha has been receiving heavy rain due to an active southwest monsoon and a dozen low-pressure systems, which have formed over the Bay of Bengal this monsoon. The low-pressure areas forming over the Bay of Bengal move in the west-northwestwards direction, causing heavy rain in the upper catchment areas of several rivers in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, leading to a flood situation in north Odisha districts.