Over 2.77 lakh evacuated as Odisha floods persist; CM tours worst-hit areas
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Monday undertook a boat ride to reach inundated villages in Jajpur district as the flood situation in the state remained grim, affecting more than 7.85 lakh people, officials said.
Accompanied by Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari, Sports Minister Suryabanshi Suraj and BJP state president Manmohan Samal, Majhi visited the worst-affected Kasapa and Tarapada gram panchayats in Dasarathpur block, even as the IMD forecast more rains after the low-pressure system formed in the Bay of Bengal intensified into a depression.
Wearing a life jacket, the chief minister travelled by motorised boat and met affected people in Ramchandrapur, Balda and Dhobabil villages.
Standing in knee-deep water, he heard their concerns and assured them of swift relief and rehabilitation.
Majhi said the safety and assistance of flood-affected families remained the government's top priority.
He also inspected the quality of cooked food being served at relief camps and said permanent flood-control measures would be taken to prevent recurring floods in northern Odisha.
Later, the CM also visited some flood-hit villages in Bhadrak district.
The visit, however, triggered a political row after BJD MLAs, including Opposition chief whip Pramila Mallik, staged a sit-in on the road, alleging that they were not allowed to accompany the chief minister during his boat survey.
"While BJP MPs, MLAs and ministers accompanied the CM, they deliberately denied entry to local BJD MLAs," Mallik alleged.
Meanwhile, Water Resources Department engineer-in-chief Dilip Kumar Rout said the flood situation could continue for another four to five days as water levels in the Brahmani and Baitarani rivers remained high following heavy rains triggered by a depression.
"It may take four days for floodwater in the Baitarani and Brahmani to recede after they caused high floods in Jajpur and Bhadrak districts," Rout told reporters, adding that two breaches in embankments in Jajpur district are currently being repaired.
More than 2.77 lakh people have so far been evacuated and sheltered in nearly 531 relief camps, including those on river embankments and in schools, officials said.
As many as 126 villages in Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj and Kendrapara districts remained marooned.
The state government has cancelled leave for employees, while schools and other educational institutions remained closed on Monday due to the adverse weather conditions.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said a well-marked low-pressure area over the northwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining West Bengal-north Odisha coasts had intensified into a depression.
The system moved slowly north-northwestwards at a speed of 6 kmph during the previous six hours and lay centred about 30 km west-northwest of Kolkata, 70 km south-southeast of Burdwan, 90 km west of Satkhira in Bangladesh, 140 km east-southeast of Bankura and 190 km northeast of Balasore at 11.30 am, the IMD said.
The system is very likely to move northwestwards towards Jharkhand across Gangetic West Bengal during the next 24 hours, it said.
The IMD issued a red alert (take action) for very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in Balasore, Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj districts and an orange alert (be prepared to take action) for Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Sundergarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Angul and Dhenkanal.
The IMD cautioned fishermen and advised them not to venture into the sea in the North Bay of Bengal and along the coasts of West Bengal, Bangladesh, Odisha and north Andhra Pradesh coasts till August 18. The sea condition is very likely to be rough due to the impact of the depression, it said.
The IMD also issued a 'yellow warning' (be aware) of heavy rains for the districts of Bargarh, Subarnapur, Boudh, Puri, Khordha and Nayagarh.
Chief Secretary Anu Garg said around 100 rescue teams have been deployed in vulnerable pockets of north Odisha and senior engineers of the Water Resources Department were sent to the spot to ensure protection of embankments and mitigate the impact of the calamity.
Three senior officers were also rushed to Bhadrak, Jajpur and Balasore districts to monitor relief and rescue operations in the affected areas.
Meanwhile, many parts of the state have received heavy to very heavy rainfall during the last 24 hours under the influence of the low-pressure. Balasore town received 93.1 mm of rainfall till 5.30 am on Monday, an official said.
