BHUBANESWAR: The Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) has put the collectors of 10 districts on alert following the release of water from Hirakud dam on Friday.
With 5.78 lakh cusec water passing through Mundali barrage at 8 am on the day, the SRC’s office asked the collectors of Sambalpur, Sonepur, Nayagarh, Angul, Boudh, Puri, Khurda, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara to give special attention to people residing in low-lying areas in their respective districts.
The SRC’s office also directed the collectors to restrict movement of people on roads and bridges submerged in floodwater. The officials were asked to immediately report any untoward incident which may take place due to rains.
Additional SRC Padmanav Behera said no warning has been issued for farmers as the water level is receding in Mahanadi. However, as the state has been experiencing heavy rainfall in the last few days, the collectors have been asked to submit reports of any damage to public/private property and crops in their respective districts. Collectors have also been directed to regularly share updates of any area which gets inundated due to rains.
According to the Water Resources department, Hirakud dam opened 14 sluice gates after heavy rainfall activity was reported in the upper catchment areas of Mahanadi river in the last 24 hours. “The water flow at Mundali barrage on Friday evening was 4.92 lakh cusec. As of now, there is no flood threat in Mahanadi river system,” said an official of the department.
On the day, the water level in Hirakud stood at 612.52 ft against its full reservoir capacity of 630 ft. There was no further heavy rainfall activity in the upper catchment areas and after the discharge of excess water from Hirakud, the situation is normal now, the official added.
The SRC’s office also asked the commissioners of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack municipal corporations to remain prepared to handle any emergency due to rains.
On Friday, parts of the state including the capital city experienced rainfall activity. Director of Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre Manorama Mohanty said, “The monsoon trough is passing through Bikaner, Shivpuri, Sidhi, Daltonganj, Digha and south-eastwards to east-central Bay of Bengal. Under its influence and due to moisture availability, many places in the state may witness light to moderate rainfall or thundershower activity in next 24 hours.”