Bhubaneswar, Sep 14: After opening two sluice gates of Hirakud reservoir on Wednesday, the dam authorities opened 12 more sluice gates on Thursday in two phases.
Sources revealed, after opening 8 more gates in the morning, authorities decided to open 4 more in the later part of day to release excess water from the reservoir.
The decision to open more gates was based on the fact that incessant rain in the upper catchment areas of Mahanadi river, did result in more water inflow into Hirakud dam as expected, revealed sources.
As per official data, water level of Hirakud stood at 628.71 cubic feet on Thursday against its water-holding capacity of 630 cubic feet. The reservoir was receiving 1,42,072 cusecs water from the upper catchment area. Excess water was released from the dam through 14 gates, sources added.
If rains continue in the upper catchment areas, then more sluice gates are likely to be opened. Similarly, if the water inflow into the reservoir decreases, then fewer gates would remain open, sources informed.
