Bhubaneswar: The Mahanadi River is likely to witness its fourth minor flood of the year with water levels rising steadily after the Hirakud Dam authorities opened 28 gates on Sunday to manage the surging inflows following heavy rainfall in upstream areas of Chhattisgarh.
Nearing its maximum capacity of 630 feet with a current level of 628.33 feet, the reservoir is receiving an average inflow of 4.95 lakh cusecs while discharging roughly 4.44 lakh cusecs, mostly through the spillway – 19 on the left and nine on the right- and the remainder via the power channel.
Speaking to the media, Water Resources Department Engineer-in-Chief Dillip Kumar Rout said around 7 lakh cusecs of water is expected to flow through Mundali near Kataka by Sunday midnight, with the discharge potentially climbing to 8 lakh cusecs by 9 am on Monday. “Efforts are underway to ensure that the flow at Mundali does not exceed 8 lakh cusecs,” he said.
At 3 pm, the discharge at Mundali was recorded at 4,58,415 cusecs. The gauge discharge was 5,98,000 cusecs at Barmul and 6,62,000 cusecs at Khairmal. Patharla recorded a discharge of 2,63,173 cusecs, while the discharge at Belgaon stood at 1,20,000 cusecs.
Although no major flood is anticipated, the peak surge could cause temporary waterlogging in low-lying areas of Kataka, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Khordha and parts of Kendrapada districts with distributaries, including Luna, Karandia, Chitrotpala, Kathajodi, Kuakhai, Devi, Kandala, Kushabhadra, Daya, Bhargavi, Rajua, and Makara, carrying heavy flows, over the next 24 to 48 hours. Areas such as Banki, Badamba, Athagarh, Kanas, Nimapara, Gop, Erasama Balikuda, Patkura, Garadpur, and Brahmagiri could experience inundation.
Field engineers have been deployed to monitor vulnerable embankments and critical infrastructure, with night patrolling enforced.
In contrast, water levels in neighbouring rivers such as the Subarnarekha, Baitarani, and Budhabalanga are currently receding, the Jalaka is stable, and the Brahmani poses no flood threat.
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department has forecast little to no significant rainfall over Odisha for the next few days, offering hope that floodwaters would recede steadily once the peak volume passes into the Bay of Bengal.