Sambalpur/Baleshwar: Odisha government Saturday started shifting people in low-lying areas to safety as all rivers in the state have swelled due to heavy rainfall over the past few days, and the Hirakud Dam has opened 16 gates to release excess water into the Mahanadi, officials said.
Flash floods have been reported from Baleshwar, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kalahandi, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Malkangiri, Kendujhar and Jagatsinghpur districts.
In Baleshwar alone, 14,660 people in 91 villages were affected as rivers flowing in spate inundated vast swathes of land. An official said 3,268 people have been removed from these areas.
According to officials at the Water Resources Department, 11 more gates of the Hirakud Dam had to be opened Saturday to release excess water from the reservoir. A total of 16 sluice gates have been opened, they said.
“We have to open more gates due to heavy rainfall in the upper catchment area of the Mahanadi River in Chhattisgarh. At present, water level is 629.56 feet against the full reservoir level of 530 feet,” a senior official said, adding that people living on the floodplains and low-lying areas have been asked to remain alert.
The Jalaka River was flowing at 6.78 meters, against the danger level of 6.5 meters at Mathani in Basta. Known as Baleshwar’s “sorrow”, the Subarnarekha river was also showing a rising trend, with water level at Rajghat in Jaleswar reaching 10.35 metres against its danger level of 10.36 metres.
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Experts forecast that the water level could reach 11.74 metres Sunday.
The Budhabalanga river has also crossed its danger level of 8.13 metres at Govindpur NH-16 and is currently flowing at 8.64 metres.
Smaller rivers like Kansabansa, Soa and Gangahar are also in spate in Baleshwar, officials said.
In Jajpur, the overflowing Kani River, a branch of the Baitarani river, inundated Tarapada and Kapasi panchayats in Dasarathpur block.
Five gates of the Indravati project on the Hati river in Kalahandi district have been opened, discharging 550 cusec of water since Thursday night and flooding several blocks.
In Koraput, five panchayats in Kotpad block were inundated, while over 100 houses were damaged.
