Bhubaneswar, July 30 (IANS) The flood situation in Odisha remained grim on Thursday, with nearly six lakh people in several districts across the state continuing to reel under the impact of waterlogging, disrupted road connectivity, crop damage and power outages.
The latest government status report reveals that floods have impacted 18 districts of Odisha, affecting 95 blocks, 472 Gram Panchayats, 1,301 villages and 14 Urban Local Bodies. The calamity has hit a total of 5,93,083 people, with 176,518 evacuated to safer places.
Briefing the media on Thursday, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said the flood situation in Odisha was likely to improve significantly as rainfall had almost stopped across the state and no rainfall warning had been issued until August 1.
Notably, the Water Resources Department on Thursday warned of a mid-level flood in the Mahanadi River and asked the district administrations concerned to remain on alert for the next 24 hours. The Chief Engineer of the Water Resources Department said the flow of around nine lakh cusecs of water was expected at Mundali Barrage on the Mahanadi River on Thursday evening.
He also informed that officials and engineers experienced in managing previous floods had already been deployed to low-lying areas in Khordha, Puri, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapada districts to deal with the impending flood situation in the Mahanadi and its distributary rivers.
Speaking on the flood situation in the Mahanadi River, Pujari said some low-lying areas along the banks had started being affected. “As floodwaters have started entering low-lying areas in Badamba and Athagada in Kataka district, we have spoken to the Kataka District Collector and directed him to ensure that the administration reaches the people before the situation worsens and serves as their Raksha Kavach (shield) by ensuring their timely evacuation,” he said.
He further noted that the water level in the Mahanadi River was expected to recede as rainfall had subsided in the upper catchment areas of neighbouring Chhattisgarh. Meanwhile, water levels in major rivers, including the Devi, Kushabhadra, Ib, Brahmani, Baitarani, Budhabalanga, Subarnarekha, Vansadhara, Rushikulya and Jalaka, were gradually receding.
He once again urged people living in flood-affected areas to move to the relief camps despite the likelihood of the water level receding in the coming hours. He specifically appealed for the shifting of small children, elderly persons and women.
On Thursday, Pujari also conducted a comprehensive aerial survey of the flood-affected and waterlogged areas in Jajpur, Bhadrak, Baleshwar and Kendujhar districts by helicopter to assess the prevailing flood situation. The Minister was accompanied by Arabinda Kumar Padhee, Additional Chief Secretary, Revenue and Disaster Management Department, and Rajesh Prabhakar Patil, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC), who also participated in the field assessment of the flood-affected regions.
–IANS
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