Odisha govt alerts 10 dists as Mahanadi swells

Bhubaneswar: Odisha's Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Satyabrata Sahu on Friday alerted the collectors of 10 districts after the water level in the Mahanadi river showed a rising trend following the discharge of water from Hirakud dam.

As heavy rains lashed the upper catchment areas of Mahanadi, six more sluice gates were opened at Hirakud dam to release more water. The districts that were put on alert were Sambalpur, Sonepur, Nayagarh, Angul, Boudh, Puri, Khurda, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara.

A total of 5.78 lakh cusecs of water was flowing in Mahanadi at Mundali at 8 am on Friday, a senior official said. Sahu has asked the collectors to give special attention to people living in low-lying areas.

Meanwhile, reports said the floodwater has already entered some low-lying areas of Khurda and Cuttack districts.