Bhubaneswar: Large parts of north Odisha remained under floodwaters on Monday as major rivers crossed the danger mark inundating villages across Jajpur, Bhadrak, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and Kendrapara districts. With fresh floods being triggered by the Baitarani, authorities warned that the situation may take days to normalise, even as a depression over the Bay of Bengal resulted in heavy rain.A govt statement said more than 8 lakh people were affected in the latest floods since Aug 13 while 2.79 lakh were evacuated. Over 82,000 people are currently in different shelters.CM Mohan Charan Majhi, accompanied by revenue and disaster management minister Suresh Pujari, toured some of the worst-affected areas in Jajpur and Bhadrak districts. The went in an ODRAF boat to Kasapa and Tarapada panchayats under Dasarathpur block in Jajpur district and later walked barefoot through waterlogged stretches to meet residents of Ramachandrapur, Balada and Dobhabil villages.The Baitarani, flowing above the danger mark at Akhuapada, Anandpur and Swampatna, unleashed a fresh wave of flooding in Jajpur for the fourth time this monsoon. The Jalaka crossed the danger level at Mathani Road, while the Brahmani, Budhabalanga and several tributaries remained above warning levels, submerging vast tracts in their catchment areas.Engineer-in-chief of the water resources department Dilip Rout said the flood situation in the Baitarani basin was likely to improve only after 4 to 5 days. “Water levels in the Brahmani are expected to recede earlier, while the Budhabalanga and Jalaka may begin showing signs of improvement from Tuesday if there is no fresh heavy rainfall,” he said.According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the low pressure system is expected to move across Gangetic West Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar over the next 24 hours. While rainfall activity is likely to weaken gradually, the weather office has forecast heavy to very heavy rain in parts of western Odisha on Tuesday. An orange warning has been issued for Sundargarh, Jharsuguda and Bargarh districts, while Keonjhar, Sambalpur, Balangir, Deogarh and Sonepur remain under yellow alert.Director of IMD centre, Bhubaneswar, Manorama Mohanty, said Bhograi in Balasore district recorded the state’s highest rainfall of 217 mm in the 24 hours ending Monday morning. Nine other locations received very heavy rain and 25 places recorded heavy rainfall during the period.The flood situation was particularly severe in Dasarathpur block of Jajpur district, where fresh inundation by the Baitarani and its tributary Kani affected around 45 villages under 21 gram panchayats. Officials estimated that nearly 50,000 riverside residents have been affected by floods for the third time in two weeks.During his interaction with villagers, Majhi assured them of health camps, safe drinking water and support for farmers once floodwaters recede. He directed officials to continue relief and rehabilitation operations without interruption.Altogether 45 teams of ODRAF, eight NDRF and 53 fire services were deployed in the affected areas.Flood-related disruptions extended to rail services as train movement on the Baripada-Bangiriposi route in Mayurbhanj district was suspended after a rain-triggered landslide washed away the soil beneath a section of the railway track.Officials said earth and concrete supporting nearly 50 metres of track near Sunagadia in Baripada’s Station Bazar area were eroded by heavy runoff. “A landslide has been reported between Betnoti and Bhanjpur. Train services have been suspended and restoration work is under way,” a south-eastern railway official said.Mayurbhanj collector Hema Kanta Say said continuous heavy to extremely heavy rain damaged the single-line section between Rupsa and Bangiriposi. Rail connectivity is expected to be restored within 2 to 3 days.
