Jajpur: A pall of gloom descended over Tarapada panchayat in Dasrathpur block of Odisha’s Jajpur district after the body of a 55-year-old man was recovered from floodwaters early Monday morning.
The deceased, identified as Maheshwar Sutar, was a local pala folk artiste whose performances had earned him wide recognition among villagers.
According to sources, Sutar was swept away at around 6.30 am on Sunday after the soil near a breach in the swollen Kani River, a tributary of the Baitarani, suddenly caved in while he was near the banks in the Dhobabila area. Fire service teams from Dasrathpur launched an extensive search operation that continued through the day and evening, but in vain. The search culminated early this morning, approximately 24 hours after his disappearance, when local villagers spotted his body trapped near a tree floating in the deep water close to Ghai Aga Gaon Dobha wetland.
On Monday morning, local residents spotted the body trapped near a tree close to the Ghai Aga Gaon Dobha wetland and alerted authorities. Fire personnel later retrieved the body and sent it for postmortem.
Community members have called on the state administration to provide immediate financial assistance and support to the bereaved family in recognition of Sutar’s contributions to local culture.
Earlier, body of another person, Sunakar Malla who was swept away by floodwaters near Tikarpanga village under Mahakalapada block in Kendrapada district on Saturday evening, was recovered after 11 hours in the early hours of Sunday.
The tragedy occurred amid a fresh wave of flooding in north Odisha triggered by heavy rains from a low-pressure system. Rivers including the Baitarani and Salandi, along with their tributaries, have swollen again just days after an earlier major flood, inundating low-lying areas, damaging crops, and disrupting road links in Jajpur and neighbouring Bhadrak districts. An embankment breach in Dasrathpur block that had been repaired earlier widened once more under pressure, forcing authorities to shift dozens of families to safer locations. Similar breaches and rising waters have affected multiple villages in Tarapada and surrounding panchayats, with residents remaining on high alert as weather forecasts indicate continued rainfall in the coming days with a fresh low-pressure area likely over Bay of Bengal around August 13.
