A minor flood is likely in the Mahanadi provided heavy rains continue in the upper catchment areas in Chhattisgarh and downstream in Odisha, said Water Resources Engineer-in-Chief Bijay Kumar Mishra on Saturday.
Mishra said that around 6 lakh cusecs of floodwaters were expected to pass through the Mundali barrage at around 8 am of Sunday.
“At present, excess water is being released through 34 gates of the Hirakud Dam. We are expecting 6 lakh cusecs of water to pass through Mundali barrage tomorrow. The river Baitarani has breached the danger mark of 17.83 meters at Akhuapada at 11 am today. Though the water levels of major rivers are rising, they were below the danger marks as of today,” said Mishra.
Though the Chhattisgarh Government wants opening of more Hirakud gates, the dam authorities have replied that they would act according to the ground situation.
The holidays of departmental officials and other staffs have been cancelled and they have been asked to monitor and supervise the situation at various points and river embankments in the coastal belt of the State, Mishra added.