Flood situation under control; Hirakud to open more gates, says EIC

Even as thousands of people have been marooned in view of the rise in water level of major rivers, the overall flood situation in Mahanadi, Baitarani and Brahmani is under control, said Engineer-in-Chief of the State Water Resources Department, Bhakta Ranjan Mohanty on Friday.

According to Mohanty, there have been no reports of any untoward incident other than two small breaches, including one at Rasulpur and Teramanpur. The breaches will be repaired as soon as the water recedes. 

"The total water level at Mundali is below 7 lakh cusecs and there is no major threat.  The peak flood is likely to pass through Kendrapara tail areas this afternoon. As there has been no rainfall in upstream and downstream areas, the situation is likely to improve soon," said Mohanty.

According to Mohanty, there is inflow of over 4 lakh cusecs into Hirakud dam and its level now stands at 615.5 ft. 

“As the water level of the dam is rapidly rising, we are contemplating opening more gates of Hirakud dam by afternoon,” he said.

"We had not opened more gates of Hirakud as already there was water in downstream areas. There will be no issues at Khairmal.  At present, excess water is being released through two gates of Hirakud dam," he added.