ROURKELA: Flowing close to the danger mark after heavy rainfall in its catchment areas, Brahmani river inundated several low-lying pockets of Rourkela on Sunday, prompting the administration to evacuate 200 people to safety.
Officials said the river started to swell on Saturday night after receiving floodwaters from its tributaries Sankh and Koel. By Sunday morning, floodwater entered Balughat, Palpalbasti, Sardarbasti and New Basti, submerging several houses.
ADM and Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC) commissioner Dheenah Dastageer along with Panposh subcollector Bijay Nayak and other officials visited the affected areas and reviewed the situation. According to the Water Resources department, the Brahmani touched 177.62 metre at Rourkela at around 11 am, crossing the warning level of 177.51 metre. By noon, the river receded slightly to 177.50 metre. With the danger mark at 178.42 metre, authorities are maintaining strict vigil. The rise in water level was attributed to the release of floodwater from Rourkela Steel Plant’s Mandira dam into Sankh river, coupled with the swelling of Koel river.
Rourkela tehsildar Salama Majhi said 160 people from Balughat and Palpalbasti were shifted to a nearby school where the RMC is providing cooked food. Around 40 people from Hamirpur near Sector 19, affected by Koel’s overflow, have also been moved to a temporary shelter. Residents said it is the fourth time Balughat and nearby pockets have been flooded this monsoon.
They attributed the flooding to the back flow from a local stormwater drain which normally discharges rainwater from Rourkela into Brahmani, but fails when the river flows unusually high. Administrative sources said the Rourkela Irrigation division has drawn up a plan to build a sluice embankment at the drain’s meeting point with the river to provide a permanent solution.
