Officials say Odisha is dealing with a possible flood situation in some districts, with the Mahanadi River rising after heavy rains in the catchment areas over the past few days. They said that as part of an effort to deal with the situation, the state government has closed eight more valves in the Hirakud reservoir.
Torrential rain in upper and lower basins caused water levels to rise in all tributaries of the Mahanadi, officials said. Special Relief Commissioner (SRC), PK Jena, said a lot of water has entered the Hirakud Reservoir due to heavy rains in parts of the Chhattisgarh watershed.
The situation worsened when the Tel River overflowed more than 30,000 cusec into the Mahanadi River instead of the expected 1.5 lakh cusec, he said. We need to close the eight gates of the Hirakud Dam to moderate flooding in the medium term. Jena told reporters on Monday that the water was drained through 26 doors instead of 34 on Sunday.
As of 6 p.m. Monday, 10.41 lakh cusecs of water had passed through the dam and the volume is expected to increase further. The state government is trying to keep floodwaters below 10,500,000 cusecs near Cuttack, and so has no alternative but to close eight gates, the SRC said. In view of the impending flood situation, the authorities have asked the collectors of the affected areas and the engineers of the water resources department to stay alert and monitor the situation. Special instructions have been issued to officials in Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Puri districts to stay prepared for any eventuality. Officials said that although no major river embankments were breached, incessant rains flooded several areas in Sambalpur, Bargarh, Subarnapur, Boudh, Kandhamal and Cuttack districts.
Jena added that the Odisha government has increased the number of relief teams from 22 to 32 and that the National Disaster Relief Force, Odisha Disaster Response Force and firefighters have been mobilized to the areas vulnerable.
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