Sambalpur: As per schedule, the authorities of Hirakud dam in Odisha’s Sambalpur on Sunday released the season’s first floodwater on Sunday as the water in the reservoir continued to rise steadily following incessant rains in the upstream catchment area of the dam.
The water is being released through five sluice gates in the left spillway of the dam. At first, the authorities released the water through sluice gate number 7 of the dam at 9.00 am. Four more gates will be opened in a phased manner today. The sirens at the dam have been blowing since the morning to alert the people in the downstream area.
According to reports the water level at the Hirakud dam stood at 615 feet at 6.00 am on Sunday and the authorities aim to keep the water level in the reservoir below 600 feet and they plan to release 40,000 cusec of water on Sunday.
Releasing the flood water will increase the water level in the distributaries. Hence, an alert has been sounded by the authorities, especially for residents in the downstream areas while the water enters the tributaries.
The Hirakud dam has 98 gates to release flood water. Of these, 64 are sluice gates, and the remaining 34 are crest gates. Each sluice gate can discharge 16,440 cusecs of water when the water level in the reservoir is at 630 feet, while each crest gate has the potential to release 16,238 cusecs of water.
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted the formation of a fresh low-pressure area in the Bay of Bengal around July 24 and it is likely to trigger more rains in Odisha.
