Bhubaneswar: Three people, including a Fire Services personnel, died and more than 2 lakh people were affected as the flood situation remained grim in Odisha Wednesday, with swollen rivers marooning six northern districts, officials said.
Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said the three deaths were reported from Kendujhar district, which has been comparatively less affected than the worst-hit Baleshwar, Bhadrak and Jajpur.
A Fire Services personnel died of electrocution while on duty, an elderly man was killed in a wall collapse, and a child’s body was found floating in the floodwaters, he said after reviewing the flood situation.
“There has been no report of any human or animal casualty from the worst flood-affected districts of Baleshwar, Bhadrak and Jajpur. We have apprised the Chief Minister about the deaths reported from his native district of Keonjhar,” he added.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said he was closely monitoring the flood situation, appealing to people not to panic.
“The life and safety of every citizen is of utmost importance to us.
My government and I are closely monitoring the situa tion arising out of incessant rains and floods.
I have discussed the situation with the Chief Secretary and the Special Relief Commissioner and directed the entire adminis tration to ensure the safety of people in the affected areas,” he said in a social media post.
The CM also condoled the death of fire service personnel Chandan Pattnaik.
Director General of Fire Services Sudhansu Sarangi said Pattnaik died of electrocution while pumping out water from a waterlogged area.
He said Fire Services person nel rescued 212 people from ma rooned villages during the last 24 hours.
Pujari said six districts — Baleshwar, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Mayurbhanj, Sambalpur and Dhenkanal — have been severe ly affected by the fl oods.
Besides these, Kendujhar, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Baragada, Nuapada, Kalahandi, Rayagada and Gajapati have al so witnessed fl ooding following heavy rain triggered by a deep depression.
The minister said 266 villages spread across 44 blocks remain marooned, while floodwaters have damaged 761 houses and inundated 7,901 hectares of ag ricultural land.
Schools and anganwadi centres in 10 districts have been or dered to remain closed in view of the flood situation, he added.
Floodwaters from the Budhabalanga and Jalaka rivers have submerged several villages in Baleshwar district, while the Baitarani, Budha and Salandi rivers have inundated many areas in Bhadrak and Jajpur.
According to the Water Resources department, all major rivers in the region were flowing above the danger mark.
District administrations have intensified evacuation operations, shifting around 30,000 people from low-lying areas to relief centres where cooked food is being provided, officials said.
Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and Fire Services have been deployed for rescue and relief operations, while the state government has deputed three senior IAS offi cers to Baleshwar, Bhadrak and Jajpur to supervise fl ood man agement and coordinate relief measures, they said.
Pujari said the water level of the Mahanadi was rising due to heavy rainfall in its upper catch ment areas in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.
“The water level in the Hira kud reservoir stood at 616 feet at noon against its full capacity of 630 feet.
We can safely accom modate water up to 620 feet. If the level crosses that mark, ad ditional sluice gates will have to be opened,” he said.
The minister said the flow at Naraj near Cuttack could touch around 9 lakh cusecs by Thursday as tributaries such as the Tel and Ib continue to discharge fl oodwaters into the Mahanadi.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister K. V. Singh Deo has directed offi cials to conduct an immediate assessment of crop damage in the flood-affected areas and submit a comprehen sive report.
Engineer-in-Chief of the Water Resources Department Dilip Rout said a medium fl ood is likely in the Mahanadi river system by July 31.
He said that by Thursday evening, an estimated 8.5 lakh to 9 lakh cusecs of water are expected to pass through Munduli, leading to a medium fl ood situation in the Mahanadi basin.
The IMD has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall at several places in Odisha over the next 24 hours.