Bhubaneswar: Heavy rain due to a depression lashed coastal and southern Odisha Tuesday, forcing the government to close schools, cancel employees’ leaves and deploy teams in vulnerable areas to prepare for a possible calamity.
With the weather department forecasting that the inclement weather would continue, Khordha, Jagatsinghpur, and Gajapati district administrations closed schools for the day, while Ganjam and Malkangiri declared that schools would be closed till September 24.
Anganwadi centres have also been closed till September 24.
However, teachers and other staff would report to schools, with principals instructed to introduce roster duties so that the buildings remain accessible around the clock and are kept ready for any emergency.
The National Rural Talent Scholarship examination, scheduled for September 22, will be held as planned at designated examination centres, a notification said.
Authorities in Koraput and Kalahandi districts have directed teachers not to leave their place of posting until September 25. Officials said the leave of government employees has been cancelled due to the prevailing weather conditions in Ganjam, Koraput and Kalahandi.
The government has restricted vehicular movement on certain roads, including at Kalinga Ghat connecting Ganjam and Kandhamal. Ferry service between Satapada and Jahnikuda in Chilika Lake will remain suspended for four days, until September 25, due to the prevailing weather conditions.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the depression over the Bay of Bengal is around 220 km from Odisha’s Gopalpur and 320 km from Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.
“It is very likely to move west-northwestwards and intensify into a deep depression over west-central and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal during the next 12 hours. Continuing to move west-northwestwards, it is very likely to cross north Andhra Pradesh-South Odisha coasts between Visakhapatnam and Gopalpur as a deep depression during the night of 23rd to early hours of 24th September,” it said.
Odisha Chief Secretary Anu Garg said the collectors of 11 districts have been put on high alert as the IMD had forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall in the southern and coastal region of the state and warned of severe waterlogging, urban flooding, incidents of landslides, mudslides and other such incidents.
Gagr said the administration has kept several cyclone and flood shelters ready in case of any eventuality. He, however, rejected the possibility of a cyclone this time.
“We have been informed by the IMD that the system could intensify into a deep depression, but not a cyclone,” the chief secretary said, adding the government has put required personnel ready to handle extremely heavy rainfall.
The IMD’s Bhubaneswar centre Director Manorama Mohanty said rainfall had started in different parts of the state and was likely to continue until September 25.
A red alert has been issued for parts of southern Odisha for September 23-25. Heavy to very heavy rainfall, with extremely heavy rain at isolated places, is likely in Koraput, Gajapati and Ganjam September 23-24. Kalahandi, Nabarangpur, Koraput and Malkangiri have also been put under red alert for September 24-25.
The IMD said squalls with winds gusting up to 75 km per hour are likely along and off the south Odisha-north Andhra Pradesh coasts from the morning of September 23 to the evening of September 24.
PTI
