Bhubaneswar: The flood in Subarnarekha will reach its peak at around 12 noon on Monday as 6 lakh cusecs of water is being released into the river by Jharkhand from Galudihi Barrage, informed Water Resources Department Engineer-In-Chief (EIC) BK Mishra.
Addressing a presser here this evening, the EIC said: “On Monday at 12:00 noon, maximum water will come in Subarnarekha at Rajghat. On Sunday, the Subarnarekha River is flowing above the danger mark at Rajghat. By 8 pm, the water level in the river stands at 11.03m as against the danger mark of 10.36m. In Jamshola Ghat, the Subarnarekha is also flowing above the danger mark. Similarly, the Baitarani river is also in spate at Akhuapada due to heavy rains,” he said.
“Most of the areas of Mayurbhanj and Balasore districts are going to be inundated due to heavy flood in Subarnarekha River. By Sunday night, the water has entered the entered low-lying areas in Bhogarai and Baliapal marooning many villages. It if of apprehension that the situation may escalate by Monday morning as the water is rising overnight,” the Engineer-In-Chief said.
“The water released from the Galudih barrage on Saturday night, will cause heavy flooding in Mayurbhanj and Balasore districts, he added.
On the other hand, Special Relief Commissioner Pradeep Jena said, “All kinds of precautionary measure are being taken to tackle the possible situation. Both district administrations have been notified in this regard.
Jena said that 40 response teams have been sent to protect vulnerable river embankments and evacuate people from low-lying areas. He added that 21 response teams have been sent to Balsore district while the NDRF, ODRAF and Fire Service teams have been kept on alert in the two vulnerable districts.
