Jajpur: Following incessant rain in the upper catchment areas for the last couple of days, the Baitarani river is in spate with water level crossing the danger mark near Akhuapada in Jajpur district Wednesday, officials said. The water in the river is flowing at 18.30 metres as against the danger mark of 17.83 metres near Akhuapada this evening, they said. As rain is continuing in the upper catchment area, it is expected that the water flow in the Baitarani River will rise further. Baitarani’s branch Budha River is also flowing much above the danger mark resulting in floods in some low-lying villages of two blocks in the district. Baitarani River flowing above the danger mark has triggered flood apprehensions in many panchayats of Dasarathapur, Jajpur, Binjharpur, and Korei blocks in the district.
Meanwhile, the Jajpur district administration is keeping a strict vigil on the possibility of flash floods. Jajpur Collector Chakravarti Singh Rathore said the district administration has taken adequate precautionary measures and kept all its field-level functionaries at strategic locations prone to flood to meet any eventuality. The Collector has also directed officials to evacuate people from low-lying areas if required and shift them to safe shelters and provide them with dry/cooked food and drinking water. Both NDRF and ODRAF teams are being deployed in the flood-prone blocks in Jajpur, said the Collector.
The district administration has alerted the people living in the villages situated in the low-lying areas through the public address system. “The district administration is fully prepared to face any eventuality. Besides, the field officials have been directed to remain in their respective positions,” Rathore said.