The Hirakud dam authorities on Monday opened 11 sluice gates to release floodwater, taking the total number of gates so far opened to 12. The authorities said that keeping in view rains in the upper catchment resulting in an increased inflow into the dam they were forced to open 11 more gates.
Dam Superintending Engineer Rabindra Panda said the water level in the dam's reservoir stood at 608.12 feet at noon. In the last 24 hours, the upper catchment region of the dam had on an average received 51.14 mm rains. The Mahanadi's tributary Ib river in its catchment area received 160 mm to 200 mm rainfall on an average in the last 24 hours.
Commenting on the possibility of the dam authorities opening more gates, he said, "Presently, our men are busy calculating data as to how much floodwater will be entering into the reservoir, and on the basis of the calculations we will take a call on opening of more gates. Rains are still continuing in the upper catchments."
While 1.7 lakh cubic feet of water per second (cusec) is being released from the 12 gates, the dam is receiving 2.58 lakh cubic feet of water per second.
Meanwhile, the authorities of the Rengali dam also decided to open one more gate in the evening due to heavy rains in the upper catchments of Brahmani river. Presently, one gate of the dam is open.