BHUBANESWAR: In a pushback against Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik’s ‘manmade crisis’ allegation, the Odisha government on Wednesday said unprecedented rainfall triggered by cyclone Arnab was the main reason behind the floods in Ganjam.
Addressing a media conference here, chief secretary Anu Garg asserted that there was no lapse in flood management by the government or in the operation of reservoir gates. Extreme rainfall saw Patrapur block recording 546 mm of rain in 24 hours, which led to the situation.
Stating that the rainfall was the highest in the area between 1990 and 2013, the chief secretary said many places in the district also received over 300 mm of rain during the period. As a result, 6,907 cumecs (cubic metres per second) water flow was recorded at the Purusottampur gauge station on the Rushikulya river, double the river’s carrying capacity.
Garg said the catchment area of the Rushikulya and Bahuda river systems was approximately 9,800 sq km, of which reservoirs covered only around 880 sq km, or roughly 10 per cent. The remaining 90 per cent of the runoff flowed directly into the river systems uncontrolled, she added.
Stating that the safety of reservoirs was of paramount importance to the government, the chief secretary said decisions to open gates and discharge excess water from dams were taken in view of the prevailing situation to ensure dam safety and prevent loss of human lives.
The central team that visited the region for a field assessment was also of the opinion that the floods were caused by unprecedented rainfall, she added.
Garg said restoration work was progressing rapidly, with electricity supply fully restored to 99.99 per cent of consumers in Ganjam. Over 4,000 tube wells had been restored, while canal repairs would ensure uninterrupted irrigation for farmers. Work on the remaining 12 of the 420 damaged pipeline networks would be completed soon, she added.
The BJD responded by alleging that Garg had not visited Ganjam but was defending the government’s failure in flood management like a party spokesperson. By admitting that the government had failed to anticipate the enormity of the situation, the regional party said, the chief secretary had forfeited her right to hold the post. Demanding action against the Water Resources secretary for the government’s failure in flood management, BJD media coordinator Lenin Mohanty said in four successive floods, the government had failed to live up to people’s expectations.
The Congress also blamed the government for its failure to deal with the floods in Ganjam.