Odisha’s flood threat intensified on Monday after 30 gates of the Hirakud dam were opened, sending a heavy flow down the Mahanadi system and placing five coastal districts on alert. The Mundali barrage near Cuttack was discharging around 8 lakh cusecs, while floodwater entered farmland, cut road links and affected low-lying settlements and religious sites.
The districts on alert are Cuttack, Khurda, Puri, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapada. Engineer-in-chief of the state water resources department Dilip Rout said efforts were under way to keep the discharge at Mundali within 8 lakh cusecs. He said inflows into Hirakud had started declining because of the absence of major rainfall in the reservoir’s upstream areas and were expected to reduce further.
Rout warned that low-lying areas and paddy fields in the five districts could be affected by flooding in the Mahanadi and its distributaries. District administrations have been instructed to remain alert and monitor embankments closely, he said.
The immediate effects were visible in Cuttack district. Floodwater entered farmlands in Banki, where residents said crops had been damaged for the fourth time this season. Water was flowing about three feet above the Huluhula bridge near Banki, cutting road communication to six panchayats in Banki block and four in Tigiria block.
The Cuttack district administration barred public entry to the Dhabaleswar Shiva shrine until Tuesday evening as a precaution. At Badamba, floodwater entered the sanctum sanctorum of the Maa Bhattarika temple on the bank of the Mahanadi. “Our paddy and vegetable crops have been damaged. We cannot survive if floods keep recurring in a single season,” farmer Bharat Khatua said, according to the report.
Revenue and disaster management minister Suresh Pujari said the government was taking steps to ensure that the discharge at Mundali did not cross 10 lakh cusecs. National Disaster Response Force, Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and fire services personnel had been kept ready in vulnerable districts to respond to emergencies, he said.
Flood-related disruption was also reported in western Odisha. Gunderpur bridge on State Highway 15 between Sambalpur and Subarnapur was submerged after heavy river flow. Farmland was inundated in Binika in Subarnapur district and Ambabhona in Bargarh district. In Jharsuguda, more than 50 acres of farmland at Gudam village in Lakhanpur block were submerged by Hirakud reservoir backwaters, affecting over 25 farmers.
The affected Jharsuguda area included Semelia, Sukhasoda, Chikli and Sarda. Vegetable crops such as cauliflower, cabbage, bitter gourd, beans and brinjal, along with about 15 acres of groundnut, remained underwater. Farmers said the crops could rot if the water did not recede soon and sought loss assessment, compensation and assistance. Officials said crop-loss assessment would be carried out after the water receded fully.
The flood situation in northern Odisha showed signs of improvement as water levels in the Subarnarekha, Baitarani, Budhabalanga, Jalaka and Salandi rivers declined. Conditions also improved in southern districts. The India Meteorological Department reported light rainfall at isolated locations during the previous 24 hours, with Lathikata in Sundargarh recording 10 mm. It forecast light to moderate rain at isolated places over the next three to four days and issued thunderstorm warnings for some districts over the next two days.
