More Hirakud Dam Gates Opened, Evacuation Underway In Low-Lying Areas

Bhubaneswar: Taking note of the release of floodwater of Mahanadi from 20 gates of the Hirakud Dam on Thursday, the Odisha government has expedited evacuation of the people from the low-lying areas of 11 riverside districts.

In an evening release by the Revenue and Disaster Management Department on Thursday, by 6 pm, the water level of the dam was 621.85 feet (against the optimum level of 630 feet) while the inflow and outflow of the floodwater was 1,95,020 cusecs and 3,31,956 cusecs per second respectively. Besides, the discharge of the floodwater from Khairmal, Barmul and Mundali during the period was 2,86,500, 3,75,625 and 6,62,000 cusecs per second respectively.

Considering that the net discharge of floodwater from the Mundali barrage will be over seven lakh cusecs in the next 24 hours resulting in a medium flood in Mahanadi and its tributaries and distributaries, the government has expedited the process of evacuation of the people from low-lying areas.

According to the release, a total of 64,354 people of the 11 riverside districts of Angul, Bargarh, Balangir, Boudh, Cuttack, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Khurda, Nayagarh, Nuapada and Sonepur have been evacuated and sheltered in 173 relief camps where free kitchen arrangements have been made.

Till Thursday, a total of 2,96,008 people of 39 blocks, 1951 villages and 9 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) of these 11 districts were affected by the flood.

For relief and rescue operations, the state government has deployed 15 ODRAF teams and 3 NDRF teams in the vulnerable areas of these districts.

Informing the media in the afternoon, Principal Secretary, Water Resources, Pradip Jena said as the water level of the Hirakud dam is rising steadily despite the opening of 20 gates today, more gates will be opened to keep the water level of the dam between 620 feet by August 21 as per the Rule Curve.

Jena further made it clear that since there is no rainfall in the 11 districts for the last two days, the water level of Mahanadi and its tributaries and distributaries is flowing under the danger level in the lower catchments. Taking this into consideration, the release of floodwater from the dam will not pose a major flood threat in the Mahanadi downstream.