Bhubaneswar/Sambalpur: Floodwaters have inundated several rivers, including the Mahanadi, following incessant rainfall triggered by a deep depression over the Bay of Bengal.
Kataka, Puri, Khordha and Jagatsinghpur districts have been particularly affected, while large parts of Kendrapada district are also under the impact of the floods.
Amid the situation, two more sluice gates of the Hirakud reservoir were opened Monday after the inflow into the reservoir suddenly crossed 6,00,000 cubic feet per second.
With this, 30 gates are currently open, the highest number this season, to release excess floodwater into the Mahanadi. According to the reservoir’s control room, no rainfall was recorded in the upper catchment of the Hirakud reservoir in the past 24 hours, while 0.27 mm was recorded in the lower catchment.
However, the inflow into the reservoir crossed 600,000 cubic feet per second as excess water stored in various reservoirs in Chhattisgarh was being released into the Mahanadi following earlier rainfall in the state.
Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said 3,743,943 people in 26 districts have been affected by recurrent floods in the state since June, while seven people have died.