Bhubaneswar: Flood situation improved considerably in Odisha, particularly northern region, on Monday as the water levels in key rivers including Subarnarekha and Baitarani dropped below the danger marks.
The state government has said adequate financial assistance would be provided for the damage caused by floods in different areas within 24 hours of receiving reports from the collectors and secretaries of the concerned departments.
Officials said districts like Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, and Mayurbhanj, which were badly affected witnessed considerable improvement in the situation.
In a major relief to the people in affected areas, water levels in Subarnarekha and Baitarani Rivers have started falling. The water level at Rajghat stood at 9.80 meters by evening, below the danger mark, and is expected to recede further.
At Akhuapada, the Baitarani River has also receded below the danger level. Fall in water levels has led to a more stable situation in Bhadrak and Jajpur districts, where no new flood conditions have been reported. Rainwater from low-lying areas is now gradually draining out.
Sources said there was no major incident across the region, with only one reported embankment breach in Jambhira under Rasagobindpur block in Mayurbhanj.
Regarding Mahanadi River, officials said 20 sluice gates of Hirakud Dam have been opened to effectively manage water discharge. At Mundali barrage, discharge of water currently stands at 5.18 lakh cusecs.
Subarnarekha’s rising waters had earlier impacted four blocks—Jaleswar, Bhogarai, Basta, and Balipal in Balasore district. A senior official has been stationed in Balasore to oversee the flood situation.
In Dhamnagar and Tihidi areas of Bhadrak, as well as Dasarathpur in Jajpur, rainwater had entered several villages, but conditions are now stabilising. Akhuapada’s river level drop is considered a key indicator of returning normalcy.
A flood was witnessed yesterday in the Subarnarekha River, which surged to 10.27 metres at Rajghat in the night at around 11.00 PM. It has been continuously receding since then,” Water Resources Department Engineer-in-Chief, Chandra Sekhar Padhi, stated.
“Currently, the Subarnarekha River water level is 9.80 metres. The ‘danger mark’ at Rajghat is 10.36 metres. We anticipate that the water level will go down further and recede below the warning level by this afternoon,” the Engineer-in-Chief asserted.
Meanwhile, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari asserted that the state government would provide adequate financial aid for the damage caused by the recent floods in different parts of Odisha within 24 hours of receiving reports from the collectors and secretaries of the concerned departments.
“We have fixed a deadline to release the financial aid within 24 hours after receipt of the report from the district collectors and secretaries of different departments.,” he said.
Pujari said discussion has also been made with the Chief Minister regarding carrying out an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas on Tuesday.
The Minister also stated that he is planning to visit different flood-affected areas during the assessment of damage and the payment of compensation to review the whole process.
Those who suffered damaged would definitely receive adequate compensation. The collectors of Jajpur, Balasore, Bhadrak, Keonjhar, and Sundargarh have been instructed to provide cooked food to people staying in shelters and dry food to those residing in their homes in flood-affected areas.
