Bhubaneswar: The water level in Odisha’s Hiraduk dam has risen alarmingly with torrential rain in the upper catchment area of Mahanadi since Thursday evening. As a result, six more sluice gates of the sam were opened to release more floodwater into the Mahanadi River on Friday morning.
With the opening of the six gates, floodwater is now being released through 14 gates – nine on the left and five on the right – from the Hirakud reservoir.
According to the Odisha Department of Water Resources (DoWR), 587,560 cusecs of water were flowing in Mahanadi at Mundali by 6.00 am on Friday. At 8.00 am, 5.78 lakh cusec of water flowed at Mundali. Dam authorities said the reservoir’s water level stood at 612.25 ft at 6.00 am against its water-holding capacity of 630 ft. The dam was releasing 286,136 cusec water by 6.00 am.
As a result, the Odisha SRC has warned the district Collectors of the lower catchment area of Mahanadi to remain alert. The DEOs of Sambalpur, Sonepur, Nayagarh, Angul, Boudh, Puri, Khordha, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, and Kendrapara have been asked to remain alert.
The SRC has asked the authorities in these areas to give special attention to the low-lying areas. Entry to the submerged/submersible, roads culverts, and bridges are to be restricted and any untoward incident is to be reported immediately, the SRC said.
Meanwhile, release of water from Hirakud dam has resulted in a flood-like situation in Banki as water entered the shallow areas of the river basin. Water is flowing 2 feet over the culvert connecting Lladabhuum-Khandhata in Athagarh of Cuttack district. Traffic on this road has been obstructed. At the same time, thousands of acres of agricultural land in Tigiria and Uttarbanki areas have been submerged in Uttarbanki Mahabar.
