Bhubaneswar/Balasore, Sep 2 (PTI) The flood situation in Odisha’s northen region remained grim on Wednesday as the Subarnarekha river, the water of which has so far marooned 129 villages in Balasore district, is in spate and on a rising trend, officials said.
Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said though there is a flood situation in districts of Jajpur, Bhadrak, Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar, it was well under control.
“The focus of the administration is now on Balasore as the river Subarnarekha was in spate. We hope things will be normal in a day or two,” Pujari said.
The state government sounded a high alert in Balasore district following the development.
“Tonight is crucial as the peak flood will pass through the Subarnarekha. The four blocks like Baliapal, Bhograi, Basta and Jaleswar need to be on high alert,” Engineering-in-Chief of the Water Resources Department, Dilip Kumar Rout, told reporters.
He said the Subarnarekha at Rajghat was flowing at 11.67 metres at 6 pm, over one metre higher than its danger level of 10.36 metres.
“We expect that the water level will further rise and touch around 11.80 metres at midnight on Wednesday. Therefore, the people in the four blocks need to remain alert,” he said, adding that the situation is likely to continue till Thursday evening.
The official said that the fresh inundation was caused by low-pressure-induced heavy rainfall in the upper catchment areas in neighbouring Jharkhand, prompting the state government to gear up relief and rescue operations in the affected areas.
The water level of Subarnarekha increased after excess water was released through 13 gates of Galudih Barrage in Jharkhand.
The fresh flooding in Subarnarekha, the third instance in the river this year, has submerged villages in Baliapal, Jaleswar and Bhograi blocks, the officials said, adding that several areas remained cut off.
Road connectivity has also been snapped in the affected areas in Balasore district, they said.
A total of 146 villages in Mayurbhanj and Jajpur districts, besides Baripara town, were affected by flooding in Budhabalanga and Brahmani rivers on Tuesday, the officials said.
The water level in Budhabalanga, which flooded several areas in Remuna and Sadar blocks in Balasore district on Tuesday night, however, showed a receding trend this morning, said Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari.
He said the administration is already in the field with affected people with adequate boats, relief materials and rescue teams comprising personnel of ODRAF, Fire Service and police.
The flood situation in Mayurbhanj district has also started showing signs of improvement due to receding water levels of Budhabalanga River.
Many of the 5,000 people who took shelter in relief camps started returning to their villages this morning, the officials said.
The situation in Jajpur, however, remained the same as the water level in Brahmani River was unchanged.
As many as 62 villages in Jajpur district remained inundated, and the district administration declared closure of schools and Anganwadi centres for a day in the wake of the inundation and water-logging.
Low-lying areas in Dasarathpur, Bari and Binjharpur blocks of the district have been inundated. Dasarathpur remained impacted by floods for nearly 57 days since the first week of July, the officials said.
Baitarani River was flowing close to its danger level of 18.33 metres at Akhuapada in Bhadrak. Bhadrak’s Bhandaripokhari, Dhamnagar, Chandbali and Tihidi blocks also feared fresh flooding, they said.
According to the evening bulletin issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the well-marked low-pressure area over northeast Madhya Pradesh and neighbourhood persisted over the same region at 12.30 pm. It is likely to move west-northwestwards across south Uttar Pradesh and adjoining north Madhya Pradesh during next 24 hours.
Under its influence, light to moderate rainfall is expected in most places of Odisha, and heavy rainfall in isolated places till 8.30 am of Thursday.
Tiring in Mayurbhanj district received the highest rainfall of 42.8 mm till 8.30 am. PTI COR AAM ACD AAM NN
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