Seven lakh affected as Hirakud Dam opens 14 gates amid Odisha floods

Heavy inflows into the Hirakud Dam triggered increased water release into the Mahanadi, affecting over seven lakh people across 20 Odisha districts. Authorities evacuated 1.9 lakh residents, deployed rescue teams and intensified relief efforts as floodwaters inundated low-lying areas

Bhubaneswar: Heavy rains in the upper catchment triggered the Hirakud Dam to discharge a huge amount of water into the Mahanadi, swelling the river and impacting seven lakh people in 20 of the state’s 30 districts as low-lying areas got inundated. The rise in the water level of the Mahanadi river led to the swelling of several of its tributaries, aggravating the situation. However, no rain in the past one day has come as a respite for the state.

Revenue and disaster management minister Suresh Pujari, who reviewed the flood situation, said 14 gates of the Hirakud Dam have been opened, discharging over two lakh cusec of water due to a huge inflow from the upper catchment areas of the Mahanadi in Chhattisgarh.

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Earlier, only two gates were open. “The water will take around 36 to 40 hours to reach Mundali near Cuttack,” the minister said. By Friday morning, the water level in the reservoir stood at 623.52 feet against its full storage capacity of 630 feet. The dam was receiving approximately 3,69,322 cusecs of water per second, while about 65,543 cusecs were being released downstream.

Pujari said more than eight lakh cusecs of water at Mundali should be discharged within 36 hours, making space for the excess water being discharged from the Hirakud.” “It is a big respite that there is no rain across the state since the past 24 hours in the state and also in upper catchment areas,” the minister said. He said some areas in Cuttack, Puri, Khurda and Jagatsinghpur districts have been inundated and all preparations were being made to mitigate people’s suffering.

The state is operating 520 relief centres in north and coastal regions where provisions have been made for around 2 lakh people, he said, adding that around 1.90 lakh people have so far been evacuated to safety. Special Relief Commissioner Rajesh Prabhakar Patil said the recent flood has impacted over seven lakh people in 20 of the state’s 30 districts.

He said 136 rescue teams of the NDRF, ODRAF and fire services have been deployed in various districts. The rise in the water level of the Mahanadi has led to its tributaries — the Luna, Karandia, Chitrotpala, Paika, Salia, Devi, Kandala, Kuakhai, Kushabhadra, Daya and Bhargavi — to swell, he said, adding that three persons have so far died in flood-related incidents.

Officials said leaves of all government employees in the affected 20 districts have been cancelled and public access to barrages and embankments was restricted.

Devotees were barred from visiting the Dhabaleswar Shiv Temple for 48 hours in Cuttack district. According to the Water Resources Department, water levels in Baitarani, Brahmani, Jalaka, and Budhabalanga have receded, but fresh breaches of embankments have inundated new areas.