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Odisha flood situation remains grim as fresh areas inundated, 12.85 lakh affected
Odisha flood situation remains grim as fresh areas inundated, 12.85 lakh affected
Bhubaneswar/Balasore , The flood situation in Odisha remained grim with 12.85 lakh people affected in six districts, even as fresh areas got inundated in Balasore on Thursday as the Subarnarekha River flowed above the danger level, officials said.
Subarnarekha witnessed peak flooding at 3 am on Thursday when the water level at Rajghat in Jaleswar touched 11.82 metres against the danger level of 10.36 meters. At 9 am, however, the water receded to 11.6 metres, which was still above the danger level, Special Relief Commissioner Rajesh P Patil said.
The SRC said flooding in the river has caused fresh inundation in Bhograi and Baliapal blocks. While 28 gram panchayats in Bhograi block have been inundated, 20 blocks of Baliapal have been affected, the official said.
As the floodwater submerged villages and paddy fields, the Balasore district administration deployed additional relief and rescue teams in the affected blocks.
"The rescue operation has been intensified by deploying personnel of the National Disaster Response Force , Odisha Disaster Response Force , fire services and local police," an official at the Balasore District Emergency Office said.
Odisha's Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said the water level in Subarnarekha swelled due to discharge of water from Galudih Barrage in neighbouring Jharkhand. The upper catchment areas of the river also received very heavy rainfall due to a depression.
Apart from Subarnarekha, Jalaka and Budhabalanga rivers in Balasore were also in spate.
As many as 331 villages in Balasore district have been affected by flooding in Subarnarekha, Jalaka and Budhabalanga rivers, officials said.
The floodwaters inundated State Highway 57, which connects Jaleswar and Chandaneswar in Balasore district, and vehicular movement was completely halted.
Patil said that the government was optimistic that the flood situation would improve soon, but may require more days for Balasore to return to normalcy.
The affected six districts were Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar, where floodwaters caused breach of embankments, inundation of villages and disruption of road connectivity.
A total of 4,28,475 people have been evacuated and accommodated in 728 shelters, it said.
In Kendrapara district, flooding in Baitarani, Kharasrota, Brahmani and Kani rivers have raised concerns. A 50-foot breach in the Luna River embankment near Kaima Kanpur in Baraha Domanda panchayat of Rajkanika block inundated villages under four gram panchayats.
Bhadrak Collector Somesh Upadhyay said the flood situation in the district has improved slightly as no rainfall was witnessed in the last 24 hours.
He said the water level in Baitarani River was showing a gradual decline.
Nearly 2.7 lakh people have been affected by the floods in Bhadrak district so far, he said, adding that several gram panchayats continue to remain under water.
The collector said that the administration was keeping a close watch on the Salandi River and monitoring rainfall in the upper catchment areas of Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar.
The water level in Nalia River has also dipped, with the Hadagarh Dam releasing around 70 cusecs of water, he said.
The situation in Jajpur district was no different. Both Baitarani and Salandi also flow through the district. However, the situation in Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar was comparatively better than four other districts, officials said.
The India Meteorological Department has not issued any warning for heavy rainfall for Thursday, but forecast light to moderate rain or thundershowers at a few places in all the districts of Odisha.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
