Hirakud dam closes 8 sluice gates
Hirakud dam closes 8 sluice gates
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Sambalpur: The Hirakud dam managers shut eight sluice gates on Monday in an effort to control the flooding situation in low-lying parts of the Mahanadi river system.
At the moment, 26 gates—eight on the right and 18 on the left—were letting surplus water from the dam reservoir out. The dam's storage capacity is 630 cubic feet, however at midday on that particular day, the water level was 620.73 cubic feet.
"Hirakud dam's 8 gates will be locked to regulate and control flood situation in low-lying areas until 9 am on Tuesday," Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Pradeep Jena wrote in a tweet.
The Mahanadi reservoir's water level has increased as a result of recent heavy rains in its upper catchment areas. Water entered the reservoir at a rate of 9.7 lakh cubic seconds, while it left at a rate of 5.71 lakh cubic seconds.
Jena added that the barrage at Mundali in the Cuttack district was discharging rainwater at a rate of 9.1 lakh cubic feet per second. Closed Hirakud reservoir gates will result in a 1.2 lakh cusec reduction in water flow. By Tuesday evening, the inflow at Mundali is anticipated to reach 11 lakh cusec.
While there, Chief Secretary Suresh Mohapatra met with staff from the State River Commission (SRC) and the Water Resources Department to discuss the potential for flooding in the Mahanadi river system.
Notably, the district administration has relocated over a thousand individuals from Sambalpur's low-lying regions to secure shelters.
Ananya Das, the district collector for Sambalpur, stated that seven relief camps have been established to house people in case of flooding. Pumps for water have also been used to remove water from low-lying locations.
Several sections in the Sonepur district were submerged by the waters that Hirakud river and severe rainfall unleashed. Knee-deep water gushing over the Bijepur bridge in the Binka block of the district cut down traffic on the Birmaharajpur-Sonepur route.
Similar to this, precipitation infiltrating homes has caused Golpada area in Binka town to become flooded. As four feet of water was gushing through Sangijuba nullah, the connection between Binka and Dunguripalli broke.
