Odisha floods affect more than 4.67 lakh people; govt prepares for next spell of rain
BJP state unit president Samir Mohanty reportedly said that the present situation in the Mahanadi river system has increased due to utter negligence by the Naveen Patnaik administration.
FollowThe Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy rainfall in as many as 20 districts for Thursday and very heavy rain in 17 districts for Friday as a new low-pressure area is developing, the third in the past overnight.
Due to heavy rainfall in the state, Odisha has been battling flood situations. Speaking to news agency ANI, Special Relief Commissioner, Pradeep Kumar Jena said that over 4.67 lakh people in 1,757 villages in 10 districts of Odisha have been affected so far. Amid this situation, the administration braces up for the next spell of heavy rain from Thursday as forecast by the meteorological department.
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Jena further said that by Wednesday evening, over 60,000 people were evacuated to safe places.
Speaking to PTI, Jena said, "Wednesday night is considered crucial for the Mahanadi delta region as peak flood water will pass through Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Puri and Khurda districts. About 10 lakh cusecs (cubic feet per second) of water will flow through the delta region which may inundate more villages."
According to the Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre, the weather system is set to form over north Bay of Bengal around Friday under the influence of a cyclonic circulation, which lies over south Myanmar.
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The meteorological center issued an orange alert of very heavy downpour of 116-204 mm in 17 districts, including Cuttack, Kendrapara and Sambalpur, on Friday.
Heavy showers are expected for the rest of the 13 districts on the day. It predicted very heavy precipitation in Kalahandi and seven districts of western Odisha on Saturday, besides heavy rain in nine adjoining districts.
Meanwhile, the opposition BJP accused the ruling BJD of failing to implement proper water management in the Hirakud reservoir.
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BJP state unit president Samir Mohanty reportedly said that the present situation in the Mahanadi river system has increased due to utter negligence by the Naveen Patnaik administration.
The flood-hit districts are Angul, Bargarh, Boudh, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Khurda, Nayagarh, Puri, Sambalpur and Subarnapur.
