Odisha floods: Over 250,000 people across 10 districts affected
Eighteen teams of Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force, National Disaster Response Force and 44 of fire personnel have been deployed for rescue operations
Floods have affected over 250,000 people in at least 1,400 villages across Odisha’s 10 districts as heavy rainfall in the upper and lower catchment areas of the Mahanadi swelled the river and led to breaches in embankments, a top official said.
Around 24,000 hectares of farmland has been marooned. (ANI)
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Special relief commissioner P K Jena said around 24,000 hectares of farmland has been marooned. “Out of the 64 sluice gates of the Hirakud Dam, 40 have been opened...The peak flood has passed and we are keeping a close watch on the developing situation. We have stationed 18 teams of ODRAF [Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force] and NDRF [National Disaster Response Force] and 44 teams of fire personnel for rescue operations,” said Jena.
Over 700 boarders were rescued after their school in the Cuttack district was marooned. Officials said the floodwaters entered villages, agricultural fields and were flowing over bridges in Sambalpur, Subarnapur, Boudh, Cuttack, Khurda, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Puri districts.
The floods disrupted traffic on the Khordha-Bolangir highway at Baghamari. Vehicular movement between Rayagada and Koraput was hit after a bridge between Bangalaguda and Lendiri Maliguda collapsed.
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Officials said the flood situation in the state may worsen by the weekend with a low pressure forming over north-west Bay of Bengal off Odisha coast on August 19 and is expected to cause heavy rain in the state. They added schools in Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Nayagarh districts will remain shut on Wednesday and Thursday.
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Officials said the flood situation in the state may worsen by the weekend with a low pressure forming over north-west Bay of Bengal off Odisha coast on August 19 and is expected to cause heavy rain in the state. They added schools in Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Nayagarh districts will remain shut on Wednesday and Thursday.
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The leaves of all the government officials in Cuttack, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Nayagarh, Khurda, Angul, Boudh, Sonepur and Sambalpur districts have been cancelled for next seven days.
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.
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