Due to the low pressure, several places in the State received heavy rainfall during the last three days. Many areas in southern most districts have been cut off due to flash flood in the rivers caused by the torrential rains. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday asked the District Collectors of undivided Kalahandi, Koraput and Gajapati districts to take immediate steps to assess the damages caused by the flood and provide assistance to the victims under norms of State Disaster Response Fund.
In Gajapati district, the Bansadhara river is flowing above the caution level. The water level is above 53.92 meter at Kasinagar, sources said. On Thursday, a bridge under Mohana block which was connecting 12 villages was washed away. Due to the bridge collapse, 15 matric students who were going to appear the 10th supplementary examinations failed to reach at the examination centre.
Due to the flash floods in the river Hati, the power generation in Upper Indravati has been stopped for the second days leading to cut in power distribution by GRIDCO. As heavy rainfall lashed the catchments of Hati, the river continued to flow above 3feet above a bridge near Janagarh disrupting the traffic on NH 201 and 26. It caused snapping of road communication network with Malkangiri, Koraput, Nabarangpur and Nuapada districts and also with Andhra Pradesh.
There were reports of disruption of some more roads in Kalahandi, Koraput and Gajapati districts. The villages namely Biripur, Balichara and Matikai under Kalampur Block also remained marooned. However, with a little abatement in the rainfall on Friday, there is gradual improvement in the situation. NH-201 is expected to be restored by midnight, the officials of Revenue and Disaster Management Department said.
In Dharmagarh block, quintals of paddy which were brought by the farmers to sell at the Mandi got wet and a few quintals washed away in the rain water. Concerned over the large scale loss of paddy stacked in the Mandis, local MlA Pushpendra Singh Deo on Friday met the Chief Minister and urged him to take steps for providing compensation to the farmers and other affected people.
Thuamut Rampur in Kalahandi recorded the highest rainfall of 310 mm on June 13 and 356 mm on June 14 followed by Jaipatna, which received rainfall of 204 mm and 198 mm over the two days. Similarly, Kalampur recorded rainfall of 240 mm and 153 mm and Junagarh 215 mm and 142 mm on June 13 and 14, respectively. Nabarangpur, Koraput, Gajapati and Rayagada districts have also received very heavy rainfall during last two days. Rainfall of Nabarangpur, Koraput and Rayagada stood at 314.8 mm, 267.2 mm and 197.4 mm, respectively.
The vehicular and train communication were disrupted. Due to flash flood, a bridge on the NH 26 connecting Koraput, Nabarangpur and Kalahandi was swept away, while railway authorities cancelled the Jagdalpur- Howrah Samaleswari express and Koraput-Vishakhapatnam passenger train. The rail track was covered with big stones after falling off the Bhalumaska hill due to heavy rain, sources said.
Meanwhile, the regional Meteorological department has alerted the fishermen not to venture into the sea till next 24 hours. Strong and gusty surface winds are likely to blow at 40-50 kmph to 60 kmph speed along and off the Odisha coast, the officials said, adding, “Rain and thundershower will occur at many places in the State during the next 24 hours. In some places, the rainfall will be heavy to very heavy.”