Hirakud releases season's first floodwater; alert sounded for downstream areas

The authorities of Hirakud dam on Sunday released the season's first floodwater from the reservoir as part of its dam management initiative. After conducting special rituals, the sluice gate No.7 gate of Hirakud dam was opened first and later four more gates were opened in a phased manner to release excess floodwater.

As per schedule, the sluice gates of Hirakud Dam were opened at 9 am today.  Authorities said the release of excess water from Hirakud is attributed to the rise in the water level of the distributaries downstream.

An alert has also been sounded by the authorities, especially for the downstream areas in view of the release of water from Hirakud. The decision to release water from Hirakud was taken in view of the heavy rainfall in several parts of the upper catchment areas of Mahanadi and the inflow of water from Chhattisgarh.

Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted the formation of a fresh low-pressure area around July 24. The system is likely to trigger heavy to very heavy rainfall in several parts of Odisha from July 25, said IMD.