Bhubaneswar: Waterlogging and flood conditions are expected to persist for another four to five days in several parts of Odisha as major rivers remain swollen following heavy rainfall across the state and upstream regions.
Officials confirmed that two breaches are currently being repaired in Jajpur district. While the Brahmani and Baitarani rivers were flowing above danger marks, the situation along the Subarnarekha river in Baleshwar district is showing signs of improvement following reduced water discharge from the Galudih barrage in Jharkhand.
Water Resources Department Engineer-in-Chief Dillip Kumar Rout said floodwaters in the Baitarani river could take around four days to recede completely, though water levels across affected river basins may continue rising slightly through Monday night before beginning a steady decline.
He, however, noted that more rains in Jharkhand could worsen the situation in the affected areas.
While the current discharge from Jharkhand’s Chandil Dam remains manageable at 1,500 cusecs, officials caution that a sudden influx reaching nearly 6,000 cusecs could trigger fresh flooding and pose significant challenges in downstream areas.
Addressing concerns over the Mahanadi river basin, Rout said: “There is currently no threat of flood in the Mahanadi basin or downstream areas, as water flow into Hirakud Dam remains manageable.”
Authorities at the Hirakud Reservoir in Sambalpur opened five additional sluice gates on Monday, bringing the total number of operational discharge gates to seven to release excess floodwaters. The water level in the dam stood at 612.8 feet against its maximum storage capacity of 630 feet. With upstream rainfall averaging 22.1 mm over the last 24 hours, inflow into the reservoir was recorded at approximately 124,000 cusecs against an outflow of 142,840 cusecs downstream.
