Bhubaneswar: Heavy rain for the last two days under the influence of a low pressure in Odisha led to a rise in the water levels of several rivers, including Baitarani and Indravati, again on Monday, bringing fears of fresh floods, even as the authorities asserted that it would not create any further trouble.Engineer-in-chief of the water resources department Dilip Kumar Rout said though rivers Baitarani, Brahmani, Subarnarekha and Salandi saw a rise, they would witness a receding trend and not create any trouble. In western Odisha, the rising water of river Indravati submerged some of its catchment areas, while in the north, Baitarani was flowing a little above the danger level at Akhuapada by afternoon, inundating some of its catchment areas.Hinting at no major trouble, Rout said they are taking care to regulate the situation, with nine places receiving 100mm and more rainfall in the last 24 hours.Chief engineer of Baitarani basin, Sanjib Naik, said the river would see a receding trend after maximum rise up to 18.5-18.6m against the danger level of 18.33m.Meanwhile, heavy rainfall continued in some southern and western Odisha pockets for the second day, causing waterlogging in Koraput district and some other areas. There was also a report of a landslide on National Highway-503 near Barabanka in Keonjhar district, partially affecting communication.India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) latest forecast said rainfall activity would decrease in the state from Tuesday and increase again towards weekend. There are chances that Sunday’s low-pressure area would move northwestwards across Jharkhand and north Odisha during the next 24 hours, it said.The IMD rainfall report in the morning showed Joda in Keonjhar district recorded the state’s highest rainfall at 170mm in the last 24 hours. Papadahandi in Nawarangpur district and Paikmal in Bargarh followed with 160mm and 120mm rainfall respectively.
