Bhubaneswar: Eight gates of the Hirakud Dam reservoir are to be closed till 9 am tomorrow to check severe flood, informed Special Relief Commissioner and Additional Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena on Monday.
Jena said that in the last 24 hours the highest amount of rainfall has been recorded in three river basins Indravati, Tel, and Mahanadi. Similarly, heavy to very heavy rainfall has also occurred in the upper catchment areas of Mahanadi.
As a result, the inflow to Hirakud is expected to increase from 7 lakh cusec to 8.5 lakh cusec. The engineers of the Water Resources Department have also analysed that the inflow is likely to further increase to 9 lakh cusec.
In addition to it, the water flow at Tel basin has increased from 1.35 lakh cusec to nearly 4 lakh cusec. It is expected to increase to 5.5 lakh cusec. Rainwater has also accumulated in a few rivers in the districts of Kandhamal and Bargarh.
In view of this, a severe-scale flood is anticipated. In order to moderate it, the State administration has decided to close eight gates of the Hirakud dam immediately. The situation will be monitored till 9 am tomorrow. Further action will be taken based on the situation.
Efforts are being made to control the outflow at Mundali to be around 11 lakh cusec on Tuesday evening. If the Hirakud dam is not closed it may reach 12.5 lakh cusec, said Jena.
Additional five teams of ODRAF, seven teams of NDRF, and 20 teams of Odisha Fire Services are being mobilised to the vulnerable areas.
Earlier, 7 teams of ODRAF, 3 of the NDRF, and 12 teams of Odisha Fire Services had been mobilised for Puri, Kendrapara, Khurda, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, and Nayagarh. The additional teams are being mobilised for these districts and for the districts of Boudh, Angul, and Sonepur.
