Sambalpur: The authorities of the Hirakud Dam opened four sluice gates on Tuesday afternoon to release the floodwater.
Talking to the media, Chief Engineer of Hirakud Dam Anand Chandra Sahu said while gate number 7, 17, 18 and 19 in the left spillway of the dam were opened at 5 pm, the gate number 45 and 46 in the right spillway will be opened later.
He said as the water level of the dam has touched 626.83 feet against the maximum level of 630 feet, more gates will be opened on Wednesday to maintain the water level of the dam as per the rule curve.
“As there is heavy rain in upper catchment area of river Mahanadi in Chhattisgarh, the reservoir is expected to receive 1.92 lakh cusec from this evening. Keeping this in view, we have decided to keep one lakh cusec of floodwater in the reservoir and release 92,000 cusec,” Sahu added.
On the possibility of flood in the lower catchment areas if more gates are opened, he said the state government will take a call on the matter.
“Usually we release water from the dam after assessing the amount of rainfall in the upper catchments and lower catchments. The water released from the dam on Tuesday afternoon will take 36 hours to reach Mundali barrage. After the floodwater reaches Mundali, more gates will be opened on Wednesday in a phased manner to ensure that the water level of the river in the lower catchments does not rise further,” Sahu pointed out.
Also Read: Heavy Rain In Upper Catchments Of Mahanadi: Odisha To Open Hirakud Dam Gates Today
