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Water Resources Department Engineer-in-Chief Er. Dillip Kumar Rout said no fresh rainfall has been reported over the river catchment areas, allowing floodwaters to gradually recede. He added that there is no immediate threat of fresh flooding.
According to Rout, nearly two-thirds of the inundated areas have witnessed a substantial decline in water levels. The continued dry weather is expected to speed up the drainage of floodwaters in the coming days.
Giving an update on the river situation, he said the Baitarani River at Akhuapada was flowing at 17.29 metres, below the danger level of 18.33 metres. At the Anandapur Barrage, the water level stood at 34.66 metres, well below the danger mark of 38.36 metres. Although a few gates of the barrage remain open, only around 1,000 cumecs of water is being released, which is within safe limits and poses no flood risk.
Rout also said the Salandi River near Rajghat Bridge in Bhadrak district had receded to 12.60 feet, significantly below the danger level of 17 feet, indicating that the river is no longer posing a flood threat.
In Baleshwar district, the Jalaka River at Mathani Road Bridge was flowing at 6.10 metres, below the danger mark of 6.50 metres, with the water level remaining stable. However, he noted that floodwaters may take longer to drain completely from the Basta and Sadar areas due to their proximity to the sea. High tides over the past two days have slowed the natural outflow of excess water.
The Engineer-in-Chief further informed that only one gate of the Rengali Reservoir has been opened, releasing around 2,000 cumecs of water downstream. The discharge is not expected to create any flood-like situation in downstream areas.
With river levels steadily declining and weather conditions remaining favourable, the overall flood situation in Odisha is stabilising. Authorities continue to monitor the river systems closely while carrying out relief and restoration work in the affected districts.
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