Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Wednesday issued fresh alerts for low-lying areas along the Mahanadi basin as rising water levels prompted authorities to step up preparedness in several districts, officials said.
Water released from the Hirakud reservoir pushed the discharge through Mundali barrage near Kataka to around 6 lakh cusec by noon, with the flow expected to rise to nearly 6.70 lakh cusec by the evening, Water Resources Department Engineer-in-Chief Dillip Kumar Rout said.
Rout said the increased discharge could trigger a minor flood in the Mahanadi, potentially inundating some low-lying and agricultural areas of Khordha, Kataka, Jagatsinghpur and Puri districts. However, the situation was not expected to cause major damage to villages.
“The water level could touch around 6.5 lakh cusec to 6.7 lakh cusec. A minor flood passes through river Mahanadi. It will not have much impact, but could inundate certain low-lying areas,” Rout said.
The minor flood was expected to remain within the river system for around nine to 10 hours before the water flows into the Bay of Bengal, he said.
Authorities have opened 19 sluice gates of the Hirakud dam to release excess water amid increased inflow from heavy rainfall in the upper catchment of the Mahanadi. The reservoir level stood at around 623 feet against its full reservoir level of 630 feet.
Rout said the reservoir level needed to be regulated as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had forecast more rainfall over the coming days.
The Mahanadi had witnessed a peak discharge of 8.88 lakh cusec at Mundali on July 30 night during the current monsoon season following heavy rainfall in neighbouring Chhattisgarh.
Meanwhile, water entered the premises of the Maa Charchika temple at Badamba in Kataka district, located along the Mahanadi riverbank. Officials and priests were making arrangements to shift the deity to a safer location, officials said.
The water levels in other major rivers, including the Baitarani, Brahmani, Subarnarekha and Salandi, remained below their respective warning marks, Rout said.
The state government said the overall flood and heavy rain situation remained under control, while relief and rescue operations continued in affected areas.
According to the latest report of the Special Relief Commissioner’s office, 13,50,306 people in 1,895 villages across 10 districts have been affected by rain and flood between August 13 and August 26. The administration is closely monitoring the situation in Baleshwar, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendujhar, Mayurbhanj and Kendrapada, where rising river levels, waterlogging, breaches and communication disruptions have been reported.
Officials said particular attention was being given to Kendrapada, Bhadrak and Jajpur, which have faced repeated flooding and inundation since July 8.
As of 8.30 am on Wednesday, nine blocks in Kendrapada, Bhadrak and Jajpur districts were affected by floods. Around 80,284 people in 189 villages under 68 gram panchayats have been affected, while 1,02,481 hectares of agricultural land have suffered inundation.
As many as 57 teams comprising personnel from ODRAF, NDRF, Fire and Emergency Services, police and other agencies have been deployed for rescue and relief operations.
The state recorded an average rainfall of 3.2 mm during the 24 hours ending 8.30 am Wednesday, with Bamra block in Sambalpur recording the highest rainfall of 49 mm.
Odisha received 347.7 mm of rainfall between August 1 and August 26, which was 16.4 per cent above the normal average of 298.6 mm. During the current monsoon season from June 1 to August 26, the state received 1,103.9 mm of rainfall, 30.9 per cent above the normal average of 843 mm.
The IMD has forecast another wet spell for the state and issued yellow and orange warnings for several districts from August 27 to September 2 morning. Rainfall intensity is expected to increase from August 29.
In its Wednesday midday bulletin, the weather office issued a yellow warning for heavy rainfall in parts of the already flood-affected Baleshwar, Bhadrak and Mayurbhanj districts and forecast thundershowers across the remaining districts until 8.30 am Thursday.
The Special Relief Commissioner’s office said it was monitoring the evolving situation round the clock and coordinating relief and rescue measures to safeguard lives and property.
