Bhubaneswar: The state govt on Tuesday shifted its focus to closely monitor the rising inflow into the Hirakud reservoir and water flow in the Mahanadi, after a flood threat subsided in the Baitarani river, bringing relief to people living in its catchment areas.Engineer-in-chief of the water resources department Dillip Kumar Rout said there was no flood threat in Baitarani as its water level was receding. But the overflowing water of the Kani river affected 4 to 5 panchayats in Jajpur district and submerged paddy fields, he said.Rout said though they have a plan to release the first flood water of the season from Hirakud on July 9, a final decision will be taken after a review meeting. “The current inflow at the reservoir and the overall situation would be taken into consideration before a final decision,” he said.Rout said they were also closely monitoring the current release of water at Munduli barrage on the downstream of the Mahanadi before opening of sluice gates. The outflow at Munduli stood at 3.26 lakh cusec during the day and was expected to increase to about 4.5 lakh cusec by Wednesday, he said.Similarly, the water level of Hirakud Dam stood at 606.12 ft with 26% water storage on Tuesday. “Around 1.8 lakh cusecs of water is entering Hirakud during the day. The inflow is expected to reach around 2.5 lakh cusecs by tomorrow,” Rout said. He said it was due to heavy rainfall in the upper catchment areas of Chhattisgarh.IMD in its latest forecast said the rainfall activity would witness a decrease in the state till July 13. An IMD bulletin said the state recorded heavy rainfall in parts of the state in the last 24 hours. Bijepur in Bargarh district recorded the highest of 109 mm rainfall during the period.After such rainfall, the seasonal rainfall position in the state stood at 21% excess, with only two districts — Nabarangpur and Kalahandi — recording a rain deficit of 36% and 25%, respectively.
