Odisha: Floodwaters recede; disease, potable water shortage loom

BHUBANESWAR: Areas that were recently hit by floods in the Mahanadi river system slowly moved back to normal as the floodwaters receded on Thursday.
However, residents of some low-lying areas continued to suffer because of waterlogging. While water receded from most places on Thursday, residents said they were worried about availability of clean drinking water and the spurt of water-borne diseases. Besides, many residents who farm the land are upset with the damage caused by the floods to their crops.
In Puri, at least 11 villages in Nimapada panchayat have been marooned by water for the past six days. “We’ve no option but to suffer thanks to floods in the river Dhanua,” said Panchanan Mohanty of Nimapada.
He said the administration had failed to supply safe drinking water there. A political activist, Mrutyunjay Rath of Kanas, said at least 15 villages of his panchayat too remained flooded.
“Floods caused heavy damage in our area. I cultivated vegetables on two acres of land this year and took a loan for arranging irrigation facilities. How shall I repay my loan now?” asked Prafulla Martha of Banki in Cuttack. Also, a rise in the water level of Subarnarekha, Brahmani and Baitarani has left the residents worried, said a villager.
An official report said the Brahmani at Jenapur and the Subarnarekha at Rajghat was swelling hour by hour.
The Baitarani and the Budhabalanga were also rising steadily, said an official source. The officials at the state flood control room, however, ruled out any possibility of more floods. They said the rivers, although rising, were still well below the danger level.
An official said release of water in the Mahanadi system by the Hirakud dam on Thursday had further dropped to 2.42 lakh cusec per second, with only 14 sluice gates remaining open by evening. At Munduli in Cuttack, the floodwater outflow also reduced to 5.87 lakh cusec per second, compared to over seven lakh cusec on Wednesday.
The IMD said there would be a drop in rain in the state in the next two days. Director of the IMD centre here, H R Biswas, said monsoon would be weak for three days till Saturday.
Rain would increase on the sixth day of this month with possibility of heavy rain at isolated places, he added. “North and south interior pockets received good rain in the past 24 hours. Lakhanpur in Jharsuguda district recorded the highest of 85 mm rain in the past 24 hours,” Biswas said.