Floods receding

By Prafulla Das

BHUBANESWAR, JULY 12. While major rivers in Orissa were flowing below the danger level on Thursday afternoon, water level of Baitarani was above the danger mark at Akhuapada and Anandapur causing concern for the authorities about the safety of the flood-hit population in the districts of Jajpur, Bhadrak and Kendrapara.

According to the Revenue Department Control Room, a total of 32,89,000 people have been affected by the flood in as many as 6,821 villages in 16 of the 30 districts in the State.

However, the casualty figure remained static at 23 till Thursday afternoon. The Control Room officials said that the flash floods had caused a total of 48 breaches in the river embankments, including 12 each in Jajpur and Bhadrak districts, nine in Puri and 10 in the interior district of Kalahandi.

The water level of Baitarani at Akhuapada was 19.1 metre, against the danger mark of 17.83 metre and was still rising, the Control Room sources said. The Collector of Bhadrak district had been instructed to shift the people from the low- lying areas to safer places and provide relief wherever necessary.

The major rivers in which water level had started receding include Mahanadi, Kathajori, Brahmani, Devi, Subarnarekha, Chitrotpala, Banshadhara, Tel, and Indrabati. Mahanadi was flowing below the danger level at the Naraj gauge station even as water was being continuously released from the Hirakud reservoir. The inflow and outflow was kept the same at Hirakud.

However, in the Kanasa Block of Puri district a group of Navy personnel have been pressed into service to rescue people from the villages surrounded by flood waters. Emergent relief work in being carried out by the respective district administrations as per the relief code and polythene sheets are being provided to those whose houses had been washed away by the flash floods or heavy rains during the past one week.

While top officials of the departments concerned held a meeting this afternoon to review the situation in different districts, several senior officials were engaged in assessing the total loss to life, property and crop in order to prepare a report to be sent to the Centre.

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Section  : Other States
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