Flood: Odisha govt puts collectors on alert

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Tuesday put all the concerned district collectors of the Mahanadi river system on alert as Hirakud dam would open 25 gates and release about 4 lakh cusec of flood water.

Special Relief Commissioner Bishnupada Sethi has asked the Collectors in Mahanadi system to remain alert and take precautionary action as Hirakud dam would open 25 gates before 5- 6 pm today and release about 4 lakh cusec of flood water.

Sambalpur Collector has been asked to take precautionary action to evacuate people from low lying areas of the town as may be required.

Similarly, the Collectors in Mahanadi system have been asked to remain on full alert for a flood flow of about 8 lakh cusec water at Munduli day after tomorrow morning.

However flow of 6 lakh cusec will pass Munduli from today evening and will rise to 8 lakh cusec by 30th morning, said an official statement.

EEs of DoWR have also been alerted for appropriate action.

As there are possibilities of flooding in Salandi River, the Bhadrak district administration has been asked to monitor the situation.

The agricultural area in a few gram panchayats under Tihidi block and Bhadrak Municipal area are likely to be affected.