16 dead, 17 lakh affected in floods

Flood water recedes, but fears of high tide weigh heavy on officials.

The receding water levels in the Hirakud dam might have brought some relief to the state government currently on high alert to meet the exigencies arising out of severe flood conditions in the state, but fears of high tide in the Mahanadi delta on the occasion of full moon on Monday is still a cause of concern for the officials.

Water level in the Hirakud dam on Mahanadi river fell to 628.41 feet on Sunday, lower than its maximum capacity of 630 feet. At present, 35 sluice gates of Hirakud reservoir are open compared to 59 gates which were opened on Friday. The dam authority may shut down another 16 gates tonight, sources said.

“It has stopped raining in the upper catchment areas of Mahanadi and I expect flood waters may recede from today. However, due to high tide in the sea, the water levels in the coastal rivers may not drop instantly. We will have to wait for some time,” said Suresh Mohapatra, secretary, water resources department, Orissa government.

Heavy rains and floods have trapped about 17 lakh people in as many as 19 districts in the state since Friday, damaging 11,000 houses and claiming 16 lives so far. Road connectivity to several districts such as Puri, Kendrapada, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Sambalpur, Boudh and Sonepur has been severely affected due to the flood.

Puri was the most affected district while many villages in Jagatsingpur, Jajpur and Kendrapada have been inundated. As a precautionary measure, the state government has cleared NH5A (Cuttack-Paradip) road so that people in the nearby low-lying areas could take shelter on it.

The state government has asked for Centre's assistance to tackle the situation and provide relief. It has got permission to use the helicopter provided by the Centre for surveillance of Naxal activities in the state for air dropping food packets in the flooded area.

The Indian Navy has sent INS Airavat loaded with a chopper for the relief and evacuation work. The state government has deployed 1,400 boats including 200 mechanised boats for the rescue operation.

Meanwhile, chief minister Naveen Patnaik today held a high-level review meeting at the state secretariat where he ordered the officials to be on high alert and provide at least seven days relief to the people affected by the floods.

“We have enough food to drop and have opened free kitchen wherever it was possible. Things are under control, but the situation may improve after a day or two,” said Surya Narayana Patra, state revenue minister.