Sambalpur: Hirakud dam authorities Wednesday released the first flood water of the season as water level at the dam continued to rise owing to heavy rainfall in the upper catchment area of Mahanadi.
According to a notification issued by the reservoir authorities, water from the dam was released at 11:24am through one sluice gate (number 7).
As of Wednesday morning, the water level at the reservoir stood at 618.21 ft against total storage capacity of 630 ft. While 1,40,784 cusecs of water continues to flow into the dam and outflow has been recorded at 16,844 cusecs, the notification added.
The reservoir authorities had earlier informed the administration of Sambalpur, Bargarh, Sonepur, Angul, Boudh, Nayagarh, Cuttack, Phulbani, Khordha, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur and Puri districts asking them to take precautionary measures since water level of Mahanadi will inevitably rise following release of flood water.