KENDRAPARA: The turbulent waters of Brahmani river and its tributary Kani, on Friday, submerged around 40 villages in 12 gram panchayats of Pattamundai block for the second time in 12 days affecting around 50,000 people.
Water entered the villages on Friday night after the rivers started flowing above the danger mark soon after floodwater was released from the Rengali dam. “After the first spell of the flood subsided, people went back to their homes to assess the damage. But fresh floods have forced them to return to the shelters again,” said Bharat Chandra Rout of Srirampur village.
The Brahmani river crossed the danger mark at Alava as a result of which many riverside villages were marooned. The six-room thatched house of Arabinda Rout of Krushnadaspur village had collapsed due to a flood on August 17. Even as Arabinda had started re-building his house on Thursday, the floodwater entered his house again forcing him to abandon the work.
Singhagaon, Alapua, Taradipal, Penthapal, Andara, Amrutamohani, Baluria, Bachara, Nilakanthapur, Srirampur , Damarapur, Balabhadrapur and other villages are faced with the crisis. In Rouldia village, Anjali Behera stands guard on her concrete house in knee-deep water. “Condition of the marooned villagers is miserable. In the worst-hit areas little can be done until the water recedes. Nobody is sure how long that will take,” said Balabhadra Nayak of Damarapur village.
Meanwhile, a cyclist, Sunil Sahoo (21), a student of Pattamundai College, drowned in the floodwater at Mandapada village. His body was fished out by some locals. Communication was also affected on Cuttack-Chandbali road at Kasananta in Pattamundai block. The road is submerged under three feet of water.
Evacuating people stranded on roads, embankments and other elevated places has emerged as a major challenge for the administration. Pattamundai BDO Bharat Chandra Parida said around 40 villages in the district have been cut off from the mainland due to the recent flood. “We have arranged boats to shift affected people to safer places and relief is also being distributed among them,” he said.