Fresh floods hit 3 lakh people in 800 villages in Orissa

Barely recovering from a devastating flood in the Mahanadi river system,swollen rivers in at least six districts of Orissa breached through embankment.

Barely recovering from a devastating flood in the Mahanadi river system,swollen rivers in at least six districts of Orissa on Friday breached through embankment inundating over 800 villages and affecting about three lakh people.

With a staggering 130 mm rain feeding Baitarani and Brahmani rivers in just 24 hours,the second round of flood has affected some districts which already bore the brunt of the first flood about two weeks ago.

Special Relief Commissioner P K Mohapatra said Bhadrak,Jajpur and Kendrapara have been worst affected by the current flood with over 700 villages affected. The water levels in Baitarani were similar to what was last seen during the 1975 floods.

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From Saturday,the chopper meant for anti-Naxal operations would be used for airdropping food packets in the marooned areas. We have also requested the Defence Ministry to give us a Chetak helicopter for relief purposes. Besides,the Chandikhol-Paradip highway has been closed for mineral-bearing trucks for smooth movement of relief-bearing trucks, said Mohapatra.

In the current flood,311 villages have been marooned while more villages in Balasore districts are expected to be marooned as levels in the Subarnarekha river have been increasing.

The floods have affected Jajpur district the most where a portion of a 120-year-old bridge on Baitarani river at Sathipur caved in,virtually cutting off the district headquarter from the rest of the state.

In Keonjhar,vast stretches of national highways connecting Panikoili to Keonjhar,Keonjhar-Jashipur and Kamakhyanagar-Bhubana were inundated in flood waters,paralysing vehicular movement. We are closely monitoring the situation and have advised the district administrations to remain on high alert. But the water levels in most rivers were receding except Subarnarekha,Budhabalanga and Brahmani, he said.

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The flood in Mahanadi river system in the second week of September affected 3.4 million people in 19 districts and caused a loss of Rs 2,122 crore to the state. The floods killed 41 people and damaged over a lakh houses even as people in 198 villages continued to remain marooned for the past fortnight.

The state government on Thursday sent a memorandum to the Centre seeking assistance towards damage caused by the floods. From Monday a four-member sub-team of Centre led by Sunil Verma of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways would start touring the flood-affected Bhadrak,Jajpur,Sambalpur and Sonepur for a preliminary assessment of the flood damage. After the visit,an 11-member central team headed by OP Mahey,joint secretary in the Home Ministry,would visit the state by the weekend to assess the flood damage.