Bhubaneswar: Odisha has a queer link with natural disasters, cyclone and floods being the most probable ones every year. The ongoing flood this season has wreaked havoc on the Mahanadi basin with at least 20,000 people marooned and more than 24,000 hectare farmland inundated.
The wrath of this August flood is yet to end, as the situation remains critical till Thursday afternoon. Overall, a population of more than 2 lakh have been affected by the calamity, Special Relief Commissioner Pradeep Kumar Jena said.
“As many as 1,366 villages in 369 gram panchayats have been affected in this flood. These panchayats come under 49 Blocks in 10 flood-affected districts along the Mahanadi basin. So far, around 27,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying areas and shifted to safe shelters. At least 237 villages have been marooned,” he added.
The local administration is running free kitchens, around 90 which is catering to more than 27,000 people in these 10 districts. Preliminary assessment revealed that around 707 houses have been damaged. Similarly, 45 Wards of 9 urban local bodies are affected, Jena said.
“Apart from the flood, heavy rains have affected around 353 villages of 175 panchayats in 43 blocks,” he added.
“The relief and rescue work is going on in full force. I have asked the district authorities and appeal to the general public to remain vigilant till Thursday afternoon as the flood water enters sea and the load on Mahanadi tapers down,” the SRC said.