Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government Wednesday issued fresh alerts to districts in low-lying areas of the Mahanadi basin, as water released from a reservoir passes through the river at Munmdali near Kataka, officials said.
Though it will not have much impact, it may inundate certain areas of Khordha, Kataka, Jagatsinghpur and Puri districts.
The administration expedited relief and rescue operations in the already inundated places previously hit by the deluge, officials said.
While 80,284 people in three districts are currently affected by the flood, the IMD issued yellow and orange warnings for several districts forecasting heavy rain.
Water Resources Department’s Engineer-in-Chief (EIC) Dillip Kumar Rout said that about 6 lakh cubic foot per second (cusec) of water was flowing through Mundali barrage at 12 noon and it could reach up to 6.70 lakh cusec during the evening due to the release of excess water from the Hirakud reservoir.
He said the minor flood could remain within the river for about 9/10 hours before being discharged to the Bay of Bengal.
“The water level could touch around 6.5 lakh cusec to 6.7 lakh cusec. A minor flood passes through river Mahanadi. It will not have much impact, but could inundate certain low-lying areas of Khordha, Kataka, Jagatsinghpur and Puri district,” Rout said.
Though this marginal flood could inundate agricultural fields, it may not cause much damage to villages, the officer said, adding that the authorities of Hirakud dam opened 19 sluice gates to discharge excess water.
He said the inflow to the reservoir has increased due to heavy rainfall in the upper catchment area of the Mahanadi.
The water level at Hirakud dam remains at 623 feet against the full reservoir level (FRL) of 630 feet. “We have to maintain the water level at Hirakud dam because the IMD has forecast further heavy rain in the next few days,” he said.
The river swelled following rainfall in Chhattisgarh, and the peak flood of 8.88 lakh cusec water has passed through Mundali July 30 night this season.
Meanwhile, a report from Cuttack district said that the temple of Maa Charchika in Badamba area and located on the bank of the river Mahanadi has been inundated, and officials and priests were planning to shift the deity, officials said.
Rout said that the water level in the major rivers like Baitarani, Brahmani, Subarnarekha and Salaindi remains below the warning mark.
The state government said that the overall flood and heavy rain situation across the state remains under control.
“Rescue and relief operations ensured for the people,” it said, adding that the office of the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) was working round the clock to ensure safety and security of life and property.
According to the latest report available from SRC, a total of 13,50,306 people in 1,895 villages across 10 districts have been affected in rains and floods between August 13 and August 26.
The situation arising from rising river water levels, waterlogging, breaches and disruption of communication in Baleshwar, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendujhar, Mayurbhanj and Kendrapada districts has been monitored.
“Though the overall situation is presently stable, the SRC office focuses on the districts of Kendrapada, Bhadrak and Jajpur where the people have encountered multiple flood and inundation problems since July 8,” an official said.
As per the report received up to 8:30 am Wednesday, the state recorded an average rainfall of 3.2 mm during the past 24 hours.
The highest rainfall of 49.0 mm was recorded in Bamra Block of Sambalpur district.
From August 1 to August 26, the cumulative rainfall recorded in the state was 347.7 mm, which is 16.4 per cent above the normal average of 298.6 mm.
Similarly, during the current monsoon season, from June 1 to August 26, the state has received a total rainfall of 1,103.9 mm, which is 30.9 per cent above the normal average of 843.0 mm, officials said.
According to the latest report, nine blocks in the districts of Kendrapada, Bhadrak and Jajpur are affected by floods.
A total of 80,284 people in 189 villages under 68 Gram Panchayats have been impacted by the flood, and a total of 1,02,481 hectares of agricultural land has been affected.
A total of 57 teams, comprising personnel of ODRAF, NDRF, Fire and Emergency Services, Police and others, have been deployed for relief and rescue operations.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) Wednesday forecast yet another week-long wet spell and issued yellow (heavy rain 7 cm to 11 cm) and orange warnings (12cm to 20 cm) for several districts between August 27 and the morning of September 2.
The intensity of rain is likely to increase from August 29.
In its midday weather bulletin, the IMD issued a yellow warning of heavy rain in some places over the worst flood-hit districts of Baleshwar, Bhadrak, and Mayurbhanj and thundershowers for the other 24 districts till 8.30 am Thursday.