Bhubaneswar: Flood fears eased in Odisha on Friday as water levels in several rivers began receding following rainfall triggered by Cyclone ‘Arnab’, with the state government ruling out an immediate flood threat in Baleshwar and expecting rivers in Ganjam district to fall below the danger mark by evening, a senior official said.
Water Resources Department Engineer-in-Chief Er. Dillip Kumar Rout said the water levels in the Budhabalanga, Subarnarekha and Jalka rivers in Baleshwar district were being closely monitored and the current assessment indicated no immediate flood threat in the district.
“The Budhabalanga River is expected to remain below the warning level. The Jalka River, which received 71 mm of rainfall on Friday morning, had crossed its danger level of 6.5 metres and reached 6.70 metres. However, its water level receded to 6.42 metres by 1 pm, falling below the danger mark,” Rout told reporters.
He said the Bansadhara River’s water level was also receding at its monitoring stations in Gunupur, Kashinagar and Gudari.
At Kashinagar, where the danger level is 54.6 metres, the water level had declined to 54 metres after crossing the danger mark. At Gunupur, the water level stood at 82.3 metres against the danger level of 84 metres, he said.
The official said the water level in the Rushikulya River might take some more time to normalise but was expected to recede by Friday evening. The river was likely to return to normal levels by Saturday morning, he added.
Rout further said the water level at Purusottampur was expected to fall below the danger mark by Friday evening. Most rivers and waterlogged areas were likely to return to normal conditions by Saturday morning, he said.
Meanwhile, the Water Resources Department is closely monitoring rainfall and dam storage levels in neighbouring Chhattisgarh to assess the likely inflow into the Hirakud reservoir.
The Hasdeo Bango Dam in Chhattisgarh was at 79 per cent of its storage capacity, while other dams in the state had also not reached their full capacity, Rout said.
According to the department’s assessment, around 1.5 lakh cusecs of water is expected to flow into the Hirakud reservoir from the upper catchment areas between October 31 and November 1.
The water level at Hirakud Dam stood at 627.4 feet on Friday, against its full reservoir level of 630 feet. Around 35,000 cusecs of water is also being utilised regularly for power generation and irrigation, he said.
“Based on our present assessment, we do not anticipate opening any gates of Hirakud Dam. We will review the situation again on November 1 and take a decision if the inflow is higher than anticipated,” Rout said.
He added that the department was continuously monitoring river water levels and rainfall patterns to take necessary measures.
There was no flooding in other major rivers of the state, the official said.
