The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast a fresh wet spell starting Wednesday, even as normal life in several Odisha districts remains severely disrupted by lingering floodwaters, according to officials.
Several people continued to stay in emergency relief camps across Jajpur, Bhadrak, and Jagatsinghpur districts as floodwaters were yet to recede from their villages, despite a gradual drop in water levels in several major rivers, they said.
Submerged roads have cut off transit, preventing villagers in Jajpur’s Dasarathpur, Bhadrak’s Basudevpur, and Jagatsinghpur’s Kujang and Tirtol blocks from returning to their homes, officials said.
In its evening bulletin, the weather department said that the rain spell will begin on August 5 and continue till August 10.
While entire state will receive rainfall for five consecutive days from August 5, the weather office has issued an ‘orange warning’ for heavy to very heavy rainfall in Mayurbhanj on Wednesday, urging authorities and residents to be prepared for action.
An orange warning has been issued for both Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar districts for August 6.
Additionally, the IMD said heavy downpours are likely to occur in one or two places in Sundargarh, Sambalpur, Kendujhar, Nuapada, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri, Gajapati, Ganjam, and Nayagarh districts.
Meanwhile, Odisha Chief Secretary Anu Garg convened a meeting with department secretaries to direct immediate restoration and rehabilitation priorities.
“Departments have been instructed to urgently repair breached river embankments and ensure adequate distribution of essential relief materials, including livestock fodder,” Garg told reporters following the review.
With no significant rainfall over the past three to four days in Odisha and neighbouring Chhattisgarh, the water levels in the upper catchment area of Mahanadi and other rivers have declined.
“However, the situation for the coming week remains uncertain given the IMD’s forecast for widespread rain across the state,” noted a senior Water Resources Department official.
With reduced inflows into the Hirakud reservoir, dam authorities have closed nine sluice gates, currently discharging floodwaters through the remaining 13 gates.
The reservoir’s water level currently stands at 618.71 feet, recording an inflow of 90,731 cusecs against an outflow discharge of 2,38,508 cusecs, the official said.
The dam authorities are continuously monitoring reservoir operations, calibrating water release based on incoming flow rates and downstream precipitation, the official said.
Overall, the recent flood wave has affected 8,63,909 people across 1,458 villages in 85 blocks spanning 22 districts, resulting in at least six fatalities and damaging 3,567 houses.
BJD senior vice-president Sanjay Das Burma, meanwhile, visited severely impacted parts of Bhadrak district and alleged significant lapses in ground-level support.
Das Burma stated that stranded villagers and their livestock were forced to take shelter under the open sky on the Baitarani River’s southern embankment without basic relief supplies like dry ration kits or tarpaulin sheets.
He further raised concerns over the decision to exclude elected local panchayat representatives from managing the distribution of relief materials and shelter supplies.
