Bhadrak/Chandbali: Though there has been a let-up in flood situation in Bhadrak and Balasore, farm activities in Bhadrak district have been left beyond repairs due to a swelling Brahmani.
According to reports, 618 villages of 116 panchayats under seven blocks and 10 wards in four municipalities have been affected by floods.
Official reports say 4.32 lakh people were affected by floods in Bhadrak. Of them, 17,648 affected people were accommodated at 106 relief centres in Bhadrak. Meanwhile, some of them have returned to their homes.
Latest report says 96 relief centres have given shelters to 14,100 flood victims. The district administration has been providing free cooked meals to them.
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Several teams of NDRF, ODRAF and firefighters have been working in relief and rescue operations with 23 boats in flood-hit Dhamnagar and Bhandaripokhari areas. Three people in Bhadrak have reportedly died due to floods. Around 28 mobile medical teams have been mobilised in various flood-hit areas.
The preliminary survey said that 43,442 hectare of farmlands in Bhadrak were inundated.
Collector Gyanaranjan Das said that after floodwater recedes, the government will carry on assessment of the damage to crops and houses.
Relief materials are being distributed among the flood affected people while safe drinking water has been supplied to some villages.
As per government guidelines, compensation will be paid to the affected farmers, he added. Huge tracts of farmlands are under floodwaters in Chandbali area.
Water levels in Baitarani, Salandi and their distributaries are decreasing while in some areas floodwater is spreading in farmlands. In this block, 18,197 hectare of farmlands are under floodwaters. As per the preliminary survey, 2,733 houses have been damaged.
Meanwhile, a part of the river embankment at Rameswarpur under Dhamnagar block caved into Genguti river. Besides, the embankments have developed cracks at different places, triggering panic among people.
PNN