BHUBANESWAR : Over 200 villages across four districts were affected by the heavy rains in the last 24 hours, the state government said on Monday while issuing alerts for more showers in multiple districts under the influence of a low-pressure system over Bay of Bengal.
The government also asked the collectors of affected districts - Sundargarh, Sambalpur, Jharsuguda and Keonjhar - to submit damage assessment reports for early disbursement of compensation.
Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari, who ruled out flood threat in view of the rising water-levels of the rivers, however, said the district administrations have been asked to remain prepared to deal with the exigencies arising out of the situation.
As per the situation report, over 128 villages across 10 blocks in Sundargarh, 47 villages under five blocks in Jharsuguda, 16 villages in four blocks of Keonjhar and 14 villages of Kuchinda block in Sambalpur were affected by heavy downpour.
Three urban local bodies in Jharsuguda and one each in Sundargarh and Sambalpur were also affected. The district administration in Jharsuguda evacuated 722 people to safety and provided them cooked food after rain inundated 47 villages across Jharsuguda, Laikera, Kirmia, Lakhanpur and Kolabira blocks and Jharsuguda, Brajarajnagar and Belpahar ULBs and damaged over 265 houses.
The rain also damaged 4 km stretch of roads in Jharsuguda block and affected communication in 10 km of Lakhanpur block. Cracks of up to 500 metre also surfaced in seven road stretches in Kolabira and Laikera blocks.
Special relief commissioner (SRC) office said 412 people were also evacuated from lowlying areas in Sundargarh after rain affected villages in Hemgir, Tangrapali, Lephripara, Sadar, Subdega, Bargaon and four other blocks in the district.
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Around 90 houses were damaged in the district, while road stretches from Sinkipani to Karla, Amasaranga to Majhapara, Chanakir to Hemagir and Tumulia to Gopalpur were also battered. Rain also caused damage to a minor irrigation project at Gadiajor in the district.
Around 127 houses in Kuchinda block of Sambalpur and 31 houses in Harichandanpur, Telkoi, Nansapal and Jhumpura block of Keonjhar also sustained damage in the rain.
The government deployed two ODRAF teams, one each in severely affected areas of Jharsuguda and Sambalpur for rescue and relief work. Rain also caused damage to crops in many blocks in Jharsuguda and Sundargarh. Pujari said the government has sought damage assessment report from the collectors within 24 hours for speedy disbursal of compensation to the affected individuals. The damage to irrigation infrastructure is also being assessed by the Water Resources department, the minister said.
Meanwhile, the fresh low pressure formed over Bay of Bengal also triggered heavy showers in parts of the state including Balasore in the afternoon. Met officials said the system will also trigger heavy rainfall in parts of Bargarh, Nuapada, Balangir, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Sonepur, Boudh, Kalahandi, Nabarangpur and a few other districts during next 48 hours.
Pujari said water-levels of Budhabalanga, Subarnarekha, Banshadhara, Rushikulya and Jalaka rivers have increased following the rainfall but remained below the danger mark. Though there is no flood threat for now, the minister said NDRF, ODRAF and fire services teams have been kept in readiness.
Meanwhile, the season’s first flood water in Mahanadi released through 20 sluice gates at Hirakud will reach Mundali by Tuesday. “Around 4 to 4.5 lakh cusec water is expected to reach Mundali. However, the water will flow below the danger level of the river and in no way be alarming,” said engineer-in-chief of the Water Resources department Chandra Sekhar Padhi.