Hirakud: As the water level at the upper catchment area is high, floodwater is presently being discharged from 14 gates of the Hirakud Water Reservoir. Due to this, rivers have been swelling up leading to flood-like situation.
According to sources, presently, the water level of Hirakuda is 612.71 feet. 2 lakh 58 thousand 544 cusecs of water is entering the reservoir. Meanwhile, 2 lakh 50 thousand 522 cusecs of water is being discharged. 3 lakh 73 thousand 347 cubic feet of water is presently flowing through Mundali.
Due to this, there are possibilities of flood in the branches of Mahanadi as floodwaters might enter the lower area of Bhargbi, informed Bhaktaranjan Mohanty, a senior engineer at Hirakud Water Reservoir. Likewise, the water level of Baitarini River is also increasing.
The Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) has warned the 10 districts in the basin due to the rising water level of the river. These districts includes Sambalpur, Sonepur, Nayagarh, Angul, Boudh, Puri, Khurda, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara. People living in flooded areas are advised to keep a close eye on roads and bridges that are flooded.
Following this, Odisha SRC has directed the Collectors of several districts to stay alert and has said that police shall guard submerged roads and not allow anyone to cross such roads.
The Hirakud Dam in Odisha’s Sambalpur district released the season’s flood water on July 28, informed the officials. The sluice gates of the dam were opened after the ceremonial puja which was held at 8 am.