Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has decided to close eight gates of Hirakud Dam following a drop in the inflow of water into the reservoir due to a decrease in rainfall in the upper and lower catchments of the Mahanadi river system.
“Of the 40 gates, four have been closed and another four will be closed now. Thus, 32 will remain open. As planned, the reservoir level will be brought to 622 ft by 9 am tomorrow,” Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Pradeep Jena tweeted on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, the SC had informed that there has been no signification addition of water to the Mahanadi river system and a few gates of the dam are likely to be closed after 3 pm. “The inflow into Hirakud Dam has also come down to about 4.40 lakh cusecs against the outflow of 6.74 lakh cusecs. The water level at the reservoir stood at 624.43 ft at 12 noon and efforts are on to bring it down to 622 ft by tomorrow evening,” he added.
In case of heavy rainfall under the influence of the fresh low pressure, the inflow at Hirakud Dam will be around 5 to 5.5 lakh cusec on August 21. The reservoir level would be 621 feet so there will be space to balance the water level, he added.
Also Read: Will Fresh Low Pressure Worsen Flood Situation In Odisha? Know What SRC Has To Say
