Bhubaneswar: Six more sluice gates of Hirakud Dam in Odisha’s Sambalpur were opened on Saturday to release excess floodwater amid a rise in the level of the water in the reservoir due to heavy rainfall on the upstream.
With this, around 3 lakh cusec floodwater is currently being released through 20 gates, including nine on the left spillway and five on the right. The water level stood at 621.97 feet against its full reservoir capacity of 630 feet with an inflow of 3.59 lakh cusecs of water this morning, sources said.
On Saturday, the authorities had opened nine gates on the left and five gates on the right.
They further informed that more sluice gates will be opened if the water level rises due to more rains in the upper catchment areas of the Mahanadi. “Due to a low pressure, there is a possibility of more rain in the upper catchment. If situation arises, more gates will be opened,” a senior official said.
