Orissa flood situation still grim

By Prafulla Das

BHUBANESWAR, JULY 18. The flood situation in Orissa continued to be grim today and it was likely to worsen as more water was being released from the Hirakud reservoir on the Mahanadi near Sambalpur in the State's western region.

To keep the Hirakud dam out of danger, 7.85 lakh cusecs of water was released at 2 p.m. today, against the inflow of 8.53 lakh cusecs. Of the 64 gates of the dam, 51 had been opened to bring down the water level to 628 ft. The level was 628.35 ft. at 2 p.m. against the storage capacity of 630 ft. ``If required more gates of the reservoir will be opened as the dam's safety was of prime importance,'' the State Chief Secretary, Mr. D.P.Bagchi, said this evening.

Describing the flood situation as ``critical'', Mr. Bagchi told presspersons that 12.09 lakh cusecs of water was being discharged at Munduli gauge stations on the Mahanadi, upstream of Cuttack, this afternoon, against the discharge of 14 lakh cusecs last night.

He said if it continued to rain over Orissa and the neighbouring Chhatisgarh till tomorrow, the situation in the coastal districts of Cuttack, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Jajpur would become `pathetic'.

The Chief Minister, Mr. Naveen Patnaik, who has already spoken to the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, and apprised him of the problem, reviewed the situation this afternoon.

According to the Meteorological Department office in Bhubaneswar, Orissa has already recorded a total of 806.5 mm rainfall between June 1 and today, against the normal rainfall of 422.0 mm during this period.

Revenue Department officials said the floods had caused about 100 small and major breaches in many districts and several roads had been damaged or submerged dislocating traffic.

The water level in most of the rivers, including Mahanadi, Kathjori, Devi, Biluakhai, Brahmani, Baitarani, Birupa, Chitrotpala, Subarnarekha and Budhabalanga was above the danger mark at several points this evening. The death toll has increased to 32 by this evening and the number of people affected has gone up to 50 lakhs, according to the Revenue Secretary, Mr. Srinivas Rath.

Two columns of the Army have already reached the affected areas and started work, while another two columns are likely to reach tomorrow. Airdropping of food is being done in the worst-hit areas.

Due to bad weather, only 12 sorties could be carried out during the day today.

While four helicopters have been engaged for dropping food packets, two more will be pressed into service tomorrow.

Mr. Bagchi said about 10 lakh people were marooned in the five coastal districts and the interior districts of Nayagarh, Angul, Boudh, Sonepur, Jharsuguda and Sambalpur.

A large number of people who had been evacuated by the authorities or had moved on their own have taken shelter in schools, colleges and other government buildings. Many have put up jhuggis on the roadside or river embankments.

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