BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Monday visited flood-ravaged areas in the worst-hit Bhadrak and Jajpur districts to take stock of the situation on the ground. The situation continued to remain grim with the number of affected people crossing 7.85 lakh.
Majhi went to Kasapa and Tarpada gram panchayats in Dasarathpur block of Jajpur district where he interacted with residents of Ramchandrapur, Balda and Dobhabil villages.
He was informed that the Baitarani river continued to flow above the danger mark at Dasarathpur while water-level of Brahmani at Jenapur was below the danger level. The swelling rivers and their tributaries have inundated several low-lying areas, particularly in Bari, Jajpur and Dasarathpur blocks. More than 242 villages in eight blocks of the district remained surrounded by floodwaters, officials said.
He then travelled by boat to the severely flooded Ishwarpur village under Shyamsundarpur panchayat of Tihidi block in Bhadrak district and reviewed the situation. He talked to the residents and checked the availability of government relief, dry food and drinking water.
State BJP president Manmohan Samal, Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari and Higher Education minister Suryabanshi Suraj accompanied the CM while he visited flood-affected areas of Bhadrak district.
“The safety of people and prompt assistance by the government to the affected residents are being accorded the highest priority. Rescue and relief operations are continuing on a war-footing. Emphasis is being placed on delivering relief materials, food, drinking water and essential healthcare services to all affected areas,” Majhi said after his tour.
Engineer-in-chief of Water Resources department Dilip Rout said the state was currently facing a medium flood. While the Brahmani and Baitarani continued to be in spate, there was no flood situation in Subarnarekha and Jalaka rivers, he said.
With rainfall decreasing, water-level in the rivers are receding. However, waterlogging in parts of Jajpur and Bhadrak districts is likely to continue for another four to five days, he added.
According to the latest status report issued by the office of the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC), more than 7.85 lakh people in six districts of Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj and Kendrapara have been affected by the latest spell of floods. More than 2.77 lakh people have been evacuated to safer locations.
The SRC office said a total of 448 gram panchayats of 66 blocks have been affected and crops over 42,200 hectares land along with nearly 1000 houses were damaged.
Over two lakh people each have been affected in Balasore and Jajpur and 1.96 lakh in Bhadrak. While Jajpur district has witnessed maximum crop loss in over 18,000 hectares of land, Balasore follows with 16,000 hectares. Over 60 villages remained marooned in Balasore and 16 gram panchayats in Kendrapara. In Mayurbhanj district, highest 550 houses have been damaged followed by 367 in Keonjhar.
