JEYPORE: Flood situation in Koraput continues to remain grim even as the district received only 30 mm rainfall in the last 24 hours. Water of Indravati river has inundated 12 villages in seven panchayats of Kotpad, the worst-affected block.River water entered villages of Damanahandi, Chandili, Girla, Guali, Gumunda, Sadarnaga and Smutipadar panchayats in the district on Thursday night. In the wake of heavy rains for the last five days, the district administration had earlier directed 1,500 families of these riverside villages to move to safer places. As flood water is yet to recede from many villages, vehicular communication has been hit.
Paddy and vegetable crops have also been damaged. As per preliminary estimates, 10,000 acres of cultivated lands in riverside villages have been affected in the block. As many as 400 thatched houses were damaged and over 100 km of rural roads have been washed away. The district administration, meanwhile, has initiated relief work in marooned areas. On Friday, it started providing cooked and dry food to the affected people, who have taken shelter in public utility buildings and other areas. Senior revenue officials and Koraput Collector K S Chakrabarti are camping in Kotpad to oversee the relief and rescue operations. The Collector visited some villages of the block on Friday.
Incessant rains for five days marooned areas like Lamtaput, Borigumma, Nandapur, Boipariguda and Dasmantpur. People in 300 villages under these blocks have been affected. One person was swept away in Nandapur while he was crossing a stream on Thursday. Gupteswar shrine has also been cut off from the mainstream as its approach road was washed away due to flood in Chitiki river.