248 students rescued from flood-hit school in Odisha after 4 days: Official

“The students were shifted to the second floor, where they remained safe,” said headmaster Soumendra Das

Published on: Aug 19, 2026, 17:35:58 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty, Bhubaneswar

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On Wednesday, a 25-member team from the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force rescued 248 students from an Ashram school in Odisha’s Kendrapara district, who had been stranded since Saturday due to rising floodwaters.

On Saturday, 284 students of a residential school housing SC/ST students in the district were stranded as floodwaters from the Brahmani river inundated the Kulasahi area. (HT Photo)

Kendrapara district collector Raghuram Aiyar said, “Two-hundred-forty-eight students from an Ashram school in Kulashahi, who had been stranded for four days amid the rising and strong floodwaters of the Brahmani river were rescued in three powerboats and taken to two residential schools in the neighbouring Aul block.”

“The rescue operation took a couple of hours. Arrangements have been made for the students’ food and refreshments,” said Pattamundai block education officer, Ajit Kar.

On Saturday, 284 students of a residential school housing SC/ST students in the district were stranded as floodwaters from the Brahmani river inundated the Kulasahi area, submerging the first floor of the Ashram school.

Also Read:Odisha floods: Death toll rises to 13; schools shut across districts

“The floodwaters rose rapidly from Saturday morning and submerged the first floor of the school building. The students were shifted to the second floor, where they remained safe,” said headmaster Soumendra Das, adding that the school stocked food supplies for a week.

Students stranded for four days faced difficulties carrying out daily activities. “We could not bathe properly, and it was difficult to get drinking water or use the toilet. Snakes were also swimming around,” said one of the rescued students.

“I have been sleepless for the last two nights because my 12-year-old son is stranded in the school. The authorities should rescue all the students immediately,” said Sanjay Mallick of Pattamundai.

District officials admitted they initially decided against evacuation because they believed the children were safe inside the school building.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
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.Read More

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