Flood situation under control: Odisha government

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Friday claimed that the flood situation in the state was "under control" as the water level of rivers was receding.

The flood caused by rivers Mahanadi and Baitarani was now under control, Engineer-in-Chief (EIC) Water Resources Department, Bhakta Ranjan Mohanty said. He said that there were two breaches in river embankments in Rasulpur of Jajpur district and Kujang area of Jagatsinghpur district.

"Water level in all rivers was receding as there was no rain yesterday and today," Mohanty said.

He said that the peak flood will pass through some tributaries of Mahanadi in Kendrapara district on Friday afternoon. "Our people are guarding the embankments and efforts are on to stop all possible breaches," he said.

The flood water flow at Mundali near Cuttack in river Mahanadi has dropped to around 7 lakh cusec from 9.20 lakh cusec on Thursday, the EIC said, adding that the authorities will have to open more gates of Hirakud reservoir as there has been a rise of inflow to the dam.

He said excess water was entering into Hirakud reservoir due to heavy rainfall in the Chhattisgarh. The water level at Hirakud currently stands at 616.39 feet against the full reservoir capacity of 630 feet.

"The water level in Hirakud dam needs to be maintained for which some more sluice gates will be opened in the afternoon," the EIC said.

Meanwhile, reports said that several villages of Banki and Athagarh area in Cuttack district were inundated due to the backwater flow of the Mahanadi river.

This apart, many areas in Nayagarh, Boudh, and Sonepur districts were also waterlogged due to heavy rain and flood water of Mahanadi. Some areas in Khurda and Puri districts also remained inundated, an official at the Special Relief Commissioner's office said.

Meanwhile, the water level in Brahmani and Baitarani rivers also surpassed the danger marks in Keonjhar, Jajpur, and Bhadrak. While the water level in the Baitarani river has receded slightly, the Brahmani river remains in the spate, the official said.

Some villages in Bhadrak and Jajpur district were inundated due to flood, he said.

The state government has asked Collectors of all districts to remain in full preparedness to meet any kind of eventualities arising out of the flood situation.

At least 106 rescue teams are at the ground level and undertaking rescue and evacuation measures where required, an official said.