BHUBANESWAR: As the deep depression triggered incessant rainfall across large parts of Odisha, raising flash floods fears, the state government on Monday asked all districts to maintain round-the-clock vigil.
In the last 24 hours, very heavy rainfall (115.6 mm to 204.4 mm) was witnessed in parts of Cuttack, Kendrapara and Sonepur districts. Banki recorded the maximum rainfall of 190 mm, Athagarh 170 mm and Sonepur and Kendrapara 130 mm each. Places in Khurda, Cuttack, Kendrapara, Puri, Boudh, Sonepur, Balangir and Bargarh districts too experienced heavy downpour.
Rising water level of Mahanadi river inundated the premises of Bhattarika temple in Athagarh on the day.
Due to the heavy rains, the railway tracks between Tikiri and Rauli stations in Rayagada-Koraput section was inundated, impacting train movement. Later, the water receded and train movement resumed, said the ECoR in a statement.
“Railway officials and engineering staff continuously monitored the situation. Rail traffic resumed safely in the section and passenger safety remained the highest priority throughout the operation,” it added.
Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari chaired a high-level meeting on the day to assess the preparedness of the authorities. He asserted that water level in all major rivers, including Mahanadi, was below the danger mark.
Stressing that protection of human life remained top priority of the government, Pujari instructed officials to ensure timely evacuation of vulnerable people and make adequate arrangements for cooked food, dry ration, drinking water, shelter and other essential relief measures.
As per the Special Relief Commissioner’s (SRC) office, at around 3 pm on the day, water level of Mahanadi river in Naraj stood at 25.56 m against the warning level of 25.41 m. Similarly, Jalaka river’s water level stood at 6.21 m against its warning level of 6 m.
However, no river is flowing above the danger-level mark in the state. No loss of life or property has been reported so far either, said the SRC office. Severe waterlogging, though, has been reported in some panchayats of Mayurbhanj and Koraput districts.
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall in Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Bargarh and Sambalpur districts on Tuesday.
Director of Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre Manorama Mohanty said, “The deep depression will likely cross West Bengal-north Odisha coast between Balasore and Canning close to Haldia within 24 hours. It is expected to gradually weaken and the rainfall intensity will reduce too from Wednesday onwards.”
As per the IMD, the state received 20.9 mm rains between Sunday and Monday morning, a departure of 66 per cent.
