Bhubaneswar: The Hirakud Dam authorities have closed four gates today morning due to a decrease in water inflow from the upper catchment areas. As a result, the dam is now releasing water through 20 gates – 13 gates on the left side and 7 gates on the right side.
According to officials, the decision to close the gates was taken after observing a decline in water inflow into the reservoir. Yesterday, the dam had opened 8 gates in two phases, increasing the total number of open gates to 24, due to heavy rainfall in the upper catchment areas.
The water level in the reservoir stood at 626.52 feet at 6 am and rose slightly to 626.58 feet by 6 pm.
However, in the last 24 hours, rainfall has decreased in both the upper and lower catchment areas of Hirakud. Between Thursday morning (8 am) and Friday morning (8 am), the upper catchment area received 11.18 mm of rainfall, while the lower catchment area received 6.80 mm.
