River embankment blown off in jajpur
JAJPUR: The embankment of Kelua river in Ramapur area under Dharmasala block was blown off by some miscreants on Saturday night.As per an FIR filed with Dharmasala police station by the assistant engineer of Jaraka Irrigation department, Kamadev Das, people residing in the vicinity heard a loud bang at around 10 pm. A few moments after the explosion, floodwater from Kelua river inundated a few villages in the area.
In his complaint, Das stated that the embankment, constructed at a cost of `14 crore, was strong enough to withstand heavy flow of floodwater. However, it was blown off by some miscreants using dynamite. The impact of the explosion was such that around 100 feet of the embankment was damaged. Police registered a case in this regard on Sunday and investigation into the matter is on. No arrests have been made so far.
Meanwhile, the flood situation in the district improved marginally as water level of Baitarani river went down on the day.
Even as the floodwater has started receding in Jajpur, Korei and Dasarathpur blocks, hundreds of villages in Bari, Binjharpur, Rasulpur and Dharmasala blocks remain marooned following rise in water level of Brahmani, Kharasrota and Kelua rivers.While the death toll due to flood rose to four in the district, officials said as many as 24 breaches were reported from the district of which seven were in Bari.
Till 7 pm on Sunday, Baitarani river was flowing below danger level of Akhuapada in Bhadrak and Rajghat in Anandpur of Keonjhar district. Collector Ranjan Kumar Das said there has been no rainfall in the lower and upper catchment areas of the river. “The flood situation has improved in three blocks of the district with gradual recession of water level of Baitarani river,” he said.
Over 7 lakh people of 642 villages in all 10 blocks and one municipality of the district have been affected by flood caused by Baitarani, Brahmani, Kharasrota, Kani, Budha and Kelua rivers. As many as 1,77,.852 people of 165 villages in Bari, Dasarathpur, Binjharpur, Rasulpur, Dharmasala, Jajpur and Korei blocks are still marooned, said the Collector. While 2,86,326 cattle have been affected, 63,830 hectare of farm land remain the district.
Das said the district administration has evacuated 23,362 people and opened 224 free kitchen centres in the flood hit areas. The administration has engaged 46 boats for relief and rescue operations. Apart from this, 10 mobile medical and veterinary teams are engaged in Bari, Binjharpur, Jajpur, Dasarathapur, Rasulpur, Dharmasala and Korei blocks. Over 50 villages of Bari, Binjharpur, Jajpur and Rasulpur blocks are spending sleepless nights as power supply has been disrupted in the areas since Friday.