Flood situation grim

By Our Staff Reporter

BHUBANESWAR, JULY 10. The flash floods in Orissa have claimed five more lives taking the death toll to 13 on Tuesday. The water level was rising in major rivers such as the Subarnarekha and Baitarani, while the level was falling in Mahanadi, Kathajori and Devi rivers.

Several lakhs of people have been affected by the floods in as many as 1,730 villages spread over 12 districts of the State.

Large tracts of paddy fields have been submerged and the Government estimated the value of crop loss at Rs. 8,74,000.

According to an official release issued by the State Government's Revenue Department, five persons had died in Koraput district, while four had died in Puri, three in Kalahandi and one in Nayagarh.

The floods have caused as many as 21 breaches - 10 each in Kalahandi and Bhadrak and one in Khurda. Action has been taken on a warfooting in the districts of Kalahandi and Kendrapara by the respective district administrations, the release said.

PTI reports:

The Government had requested the Army and the Navy to standby to help in rescue and relief operations if the need arose, the State's Principal Secretary in the Revenue Department, Mr. Srinivas Rath, told reporters here.

The Chief Minister, Mr. Naveen Patnaik, the Revenue Minister, Mr. Biswabhushan Harichandan, the Panchayatiraj Minister, Mr. Surendranath Naik and the Chief Secretary, Mr. D.P. Bagchi made an aerial survey of the flood situation in some of the coastal districts.

But the water level, which had reached 59 feet at the Daleghai embankment against the red mark of 57 feet on Monday, was flowing well above 58 feet this afternoon.

Meanwhile, the inflow into the Hirakud reservoir on the Mahanadi in the undivided Sambalpur district had increased to over four lakh cusecs today following heavy rains in its catchment in Chhatisgarh.

The water level in the dam had risen to 614.77 feet against the maximum reservoir level of 630 feet but no water was being released into the river keeping in view the situation downstream in the deltaic coastal area, official sources said.

The Baitarani and Rushikulya rivers were also maintaining a rising trend, sources added.

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