Bhubaneswar, Aug 2 (PTI): The excess water discharged from Hirakud Dam has reached Mundali near Cuttack on Sunday, further swelling the Mahanadi river, but there was no major flood threat in the delta regions even though 10 coastal districts are on high alert, officials said.
The water level at Mundali has increased to 5.73 lakh cusec at 9 am on Sunday against 4.74 lakh cusec on Saturday.
“There is a rise in the water level at Mundali near Cuttack, but the peak flood in the Mahanadi river is over. The maximum water level at Mundali could be around 7 lakh cusec. The highest 8.88 lakh cusec water had already flown through Mundali on Thursday night,” said Water Resources Department Engineer–in–Chief Dillip Kumar Rout.
Rout said the additional water could pass through the river without causing much damage or flooding fresh areas, provided there is no further heavy rainfall in the region.
After the release of water from Hirakud dam through 22 sluice gates on Friday, the state government has put the 10 districts in the Mahanadi basin on high alert.
Officials were also directed to remain on high alert as the fresh water could cause damage in low-lying Mahanadi delta areas in Khurda, Cuttack, Puri, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur.
The IMD on its forecast till 8.30 am on Monday said likelihood of thunderstorm accompanied with lightning and gusty surface wind at one or two places over the 21 districts such as Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Sundergarh, Angul, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Kalahandi, Nabarangpr, Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri, Gajapati, Ganjam, Puri, Khurda and Nayagarh.
Meanwhile, the floods in north Odisha have already affected over 8 lakh people, and Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said many villages were still marooned in the flood water of river Salanadi, Jalaka, Baitarani, Brahmani and Budhabalang.
He said the water level in north Odisha districts was receding fast.
The chief minister has issued instructions to officials to expedite relief and rehabilitation work in affected districts. He has asked ministers, including two deputy chief ministers, to look after the relief and rehabilitation works. Other ministers were also directed to oversee flood mitigation activities.
The state government in a statement said that the Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water department has started supplying safe drinking water in affected areas while the Energy department claimed to have restored power supply to 4.55 lakh (87.21%) out of 5.22 lakh affected consumers. Restoration work is continuing on a war footing in remaining affected areas, with several districts achieving 100 per cent restoration.
As many as 566 Medical Assistance Teams (MATs) were deployed in the affected districts with adequate stocks of essential medicines. Nearly 50 pregnant women were shifted to health institutions and 53 safe deliveries conducted on Saturday.
The Housing and Urban Development department has restored damaged urban infrastructure like 371 urban roads (171.15km) and 56 culverts. Emergency measures including sanitation, dewatering, chlorination, DG sets, and water tanker services are underway.
The Fisheries & Animal Resources department has launched comprehensive flood relief operations to support 4.89 lakh livestock and 2.34 lakh poultry affected across nine districts.
