Bhubaneswar: The state govt on Sunday issued a fresh flood alert in the Mahanadi system after heavy rain in the river’s upper catchment areas in Chhattisgarh triggered a rise in water inflow into Hirakud reservoir. This will be the fourth flood in the Mahanadi river system since July, even as the India Meteorological Department has forecast no major rainfall in the state over the next three to four days.Officials said low-lying areas in Khurda, Cuttack, Puri, Jagatsinghpur and parts of Kendrapada districts are likely to be affected as floodwater enters the branch rivers of Mahanadi.To regulate the rising inflow into Hirakud, authorities opened 28 sluice gates of the reservoir by Sunday evening. Around 7 lakh cusecs of water is expected to pass through Mundali on Sunday night, while the flow may rise to around 8 lakh cusecs by Monday morning.“We are trying to regulate the discharge from Hirakud so that the flow at Mundali does not exceed 8 lakh cusecs. It will be a small flood in the delta region,” said Dilip Rout, engineer-in-chief of the water resources department, adding rivers Luna, Karandia, Chitroptala, Kathajodi, Kuakhai, Kushabhadra, Devi, Daya, Bhargavi and Rajua, among others, along with several nullahs in Khurda, Cuttack, Puri, Jagatsinghpur and parts of Kendrapada are likely to be affected.He said department officials have been put on full alert and efforts are being made to keep the discharge at Mundali within 8 lakh cusecs. The expected discharge is lower than the peak flow of 8.9 lakh cusecs recorded at Mundali on July 30, he added.In north Odisha, Subarnarekha river, which touched a peak of 11.68 metres in the early hours of Sunday following heavy inflow from upstream areas, has started receding and is likely to fall below the danger level by Monday morning, Rout said further.The flood situation in Baitarani and Budhabalanga rivers has also shown signs of improvement as water levels continue to recede. However, officials said Jalaka river in Balasore and Salandi in Bhadrak may take two to three more days to return to normal.In Jajpur district, an embankment of Kani river was breached, inundating several villages. “We have lost our crops due to the flood. Our village is surrounded by water, and it is difficult for us to get drinking water and ration supplies. We hope the floodwater recedes soon,” said Shankar Das, a resident of Dasarathpur area in Jajpur.Rainfall has reduced sharply across the state, helping flood-affected areas in south Odisha gradually return to normal.
