Finance
The flood situation in the Mahanadi river system is dire, with over 12 lakh cusecs of water flowing at Mundali barrage near Cuttack in the next 36 hours, according to the state government on Tuesday.
The flood has affected approximately two lakh people in 1,366 villages under 49 blocks and nine urban local bodies (ULBs) in ten districts along the Mahanadi basin. As floodwaters inundated many areas, 20,000 people were stranded in 237 villages. The flood has wreaked havoc on the districts of Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, and Puri.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik reviewed the situation with senior officials and collectors from ten districts, emphasizing the ‘zero casualty’ policy to ensure that no one is killed as a result of the flood.
He asked officials to ensure this by evacuating people from dangerous areas to safer areas as soon as possible. He directed that people evacuated from low-lying coastal districts receive immediate relief and other basic necessities.
He stated that prompt action should be taken for repair and restoration work to avoid communication disruption. The Energy Department should also take precautionary measures to ensure that power is restored immediately in the event of a disruption.
He directed that hospitals, water supply and power supply agencies provide uninterrupted services, and that the Health Department make special arrangements for providing medical aid in affected areas.
In a late-night briefing, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) PK Jena told reporters that the flow of the Mahanadi river is at its peak at Mundali in Cuttack and will continue until early Wednesday.
He stated that two breaches on the Mahanadi river system’s embankments had been reported. The breaches occurred in the Puri district’s Makara and Rajua rivers. The Rajua right embankment has suffered a 100-foot breach. Water Resources officials are working hard to repair the embankment breaches, he said.
Flood situation grim, over 27K evacuated
According to the SRC, district administrations have evacuated approximately 27,000 people from low-lying areas to safer areas due to the flood. He stated that about 90 free kitchens have been opened for them and that flood waters have so far damaged over 700 houses.
The SRC stated that water is being released through 40 gates of the Hirakud reservoir in order to keep the maximum water level within 12 lakh cusecs in order to keep it within a medium flood range. The dam’s inflow is now 6.3 lakh cusecs, while the outflow is 6.74 lakh cusecs.
Jena, on the other hand, stated that the water in the Tel river, which flows into the Mahanadi, will decrease and be within 3.5 lakh cusecs against the earlier estimation of 5.5 lakh cusecs as there has been no rainfall in the Indravati river basin in the last 24 hours.
According to the SRC, flood backwater has entered villages and agricultural fields, as well as flowing over various bridges in the districts of Sambalpur, Subarnapur, Boudh, Cuttack, Khurda, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, and Puri. The National Disaster Response Force and the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force each have nine teams deployed in vulnerable areas, while the fire service has 44 teams engaged in relief and rescue operations.
