Incessant rainfall: No flood threat in Odisha, says Engineer-in-chief

Even as several parts of Odisha continue to experience heavy rainfall activities triggered by a low pressure area, a top official of the Odisha government on Thursday ruled out any possibility of flood in the state.

Engineer-in-Chief of the State Water Resources Department, Bhakta Ranjan Mohanty said that the state government is ready for any situation. The upper catchment areas of Mahanadi river received an average rainfall of around 37 mm. A peak inflow of around 2,00,000 cusecs is expected into Hirakud dam.

“We have opened 10 gates of Hirakud and the current water level of the reservoir stands at 6 28.77 ft. The water flow at Khairmal stands at 1,27,000 cusecs and it is around 92,000 cusecs at Mundali. We expect a peak flow of around 4,50,000 to 5,00,000 cusecs of floodwater at Khiarmal and subsequently in Mundali,” said Mohanty.

Mohanty further informed that there is not much rainfall in the downstream of Hirakud while the upstream is likely to experience rainfall activities.

“We will assess the rainfall situation in the evening and if needed more gates will be opened. There is no flood situation in Odisha,” Mohanty added.