Water level drops in rivers but more rain in store for flood-hit Odisha

The water level in most of the swollen rivers in Odisha dropped below the danger level on Tuesday even as 6.4 lakh people remained marooned across 902 villages in the state, officials said.

However, the authorities of the state’s northern districts are gearing up to face heavy rainfall as forecast by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) till Wednesday.

The districts to be affected by the rain include Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar in the north and Kendrapara, Cuttack and Jagatsinghpur in the coastal region.

“We have retained all rescue and relief teams at their place of deployment in the four flood-hit blocks - Baliapal, Bhograi, Basta and Jaleswar - in view of the IMD’s forecast of very heavy rainfall,” Dattatraya Bhausaheb Shinde, the district collector of Balasore, which is the worst-hit in the Subarnarekha river flood, told PTI.

Sindhe, who visited Bhograi block during the day, said that he met some of the affected people and requested them not to leave the safe shelter till the flood waters receded.

Of the 40,124 marooned people staying in different shelters in Balasore district on Monday, around 25,000 have left for their houses. Now there are only 46 shelters operating in the district against Monday’s 208.

Water Resources Department Chief Engineer B K Mishra said that most of the rivers including Subarnarekha in northern Odisha and Mahanadi in the east are flowing below the danger level.

"The peak flood is over, but many villages remain inundated. Floodwaters in many villages in several districts are still wreaking havoc. The administration is taking measures to face the fresh rainfall," he said.

The water level in Subarnarekha and Bhudhabalang rivers that caused the flood in Balasore and Mayurbhanj districts has fallen below the danger mark. Similar is the situation of the Baitarani River which inundated several villages in Jajpur and Keonjhar districts, the official said.

The Balasore district collector said that apart from heavy rains, the administration is apprehending huge draining of flood water in the Subarnarekha river system from West Bengal.

Mishra said the flood situation in the Mahanadi river has improved.

"The water level in Hirakud Dam was 623.35 feet at 9 AM. While 1.59 lakh cusec (cubic feet per second) of water was entering the reservoir, 1.04 lakh cusec is being discharged through four gates," he said.

However, the Jalaka river that caused flood in Balasore block was flowing above the danger level. It was flowing at 6.45 metres at Mathani, while the danger level is at 5.5 metres. 

Image: Representative/PTI