BHUBANESWAR: Anticipating a medium-scale flood in the Mahanadi river system due to heavy rains on the upper catchment area and the release of water from 34 gates of Hirakud dam, the State government on Sunday put the district collectors on alert.
Water Resources Minister Tukuni Sahu and Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Pradeep Jena reviewed the situation at separate meetings following unabated rainfall incand Chhattisgarh.
“The State is likely to face a medium-scale flood in river Mahanadi due to heavy rains on its upper catchment. The State government is keeping a close watch on the situation and the administration is fully prepared to meet any eventuality,” the Minister said.
She said the safety and security of the people residing in the lower catchments of the river system is the primary responsibility of the government. District administrations have been directed to stay in readiness to meet any exigency like waterlogging and the necessity for evacuation of people in the low-lying areas.
After reviewing the situation, the SRC said two back-to-back low pressures have induced rains in the past few days in Odisha and Chhattisgarh, triggering a flood-like situation.
“Around 10 lakh to 10.50 lakh cusecs of flood water is likely to pass through Mundali around Monday afternoon. Four coastal districts of Cuttack, Kendrapara, Khurda and Puri may be affected by the flood but the intensity will be less,” Jena said.
The SRC further said that the inflow of flood water to the dam will be managed by releasing water through 34 gates. As around 9.56 lakh cusec of water was flowing in Mahanadi near Khairmal, Jena said it has been decided to manage the flow by releasing excess water through 34 sluice gates.
The Hirakud reservoir level was 617.33 ft against the full reservoir level of 630 ft. Over 7.35 lakh cusec of water was entering the reservoir, while over 5.63 lakh cusec of water was discharged.
He said the water level in Subarnarekha and Budhabalanga is below the danger level while Baitarani, Vansadhara and Jalaka rivers are swelling when the last report came in. The SRC said seven ODRAF, three NDRF and 12 fire services teams have been mobilised to Cuttack, Khurda, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Nayagarh and Puri districts.