Odisha Govt Braces To Tackle Flood In Mahanadi

Bhubaneswar:  Taking note of the rising water level of Mahanadi due to incessant rainfall in the upper catchments, the Odisha government has taken proactive measures to tackle the flood situation.

Reports in Sambalpur said that the water level of the Hirakud dam was 626.27 feet against the optimum level of 630 feet at by 9 am on Saturday.

While the inflow of the floodwater into the reservoir was 8,79,407 cusecs per second, the outflow from 44 gates was 6,95,172 cusecs per second. At the same time, the discharge of floodwater at Khairmal, Barmul and Mundali was 10.11 lakh, 8.70 lakh and 9,18,383 cusecs per second, respectively.

At Naraj, the floodwater of Mahanadi was flowing at a height of  25.41 metres as against the danger level of 26.41 metres.

Considering the rise in the water level in the reservoir, the dam authorities who had opened two more gates at 2.30 am, have decided to open more gates considering the gradual increase in the water level of the reservoir.

Apprehending medium flood, the state government has deployed NDRF, ODRAF and Fire Service teams in the low-lying areas for the rescue operation.

Meanwhile, the floodwater of Mahanadi entered several villages in Banki block in Cuttack district. Road communication between Banki and Kalapathara has been disrupted due to the overflowing of floodwater on Chandrapa bridge at a height of six feet.

In Nayagarh district, road communication between Baideswar and Karabara in Bhapur block has been disrupted due to the overflowing of floodwater on the road.

In Khurda district, most villages in Haripur panchayat are marooned by the floodwater of Rajua river.

Also Read: Flood-Fury Wreaks Havoc In Odisha’s Jajpur; Over 25K People Affected