Bhubaneswar, July 30: In view of the emerging flood situation in Odisha, the Water Resources Department has further intensified its field-level preparedness to ensure close monitoring of rivers and flood protection infrastructure.

All officers and staff of the Department are actively engaged in field operations, with additional officers deployed to vulnerable locations for continuous surveillance and prompt response, said an official today.

Senior field engineers are maintaining constant vigil over embankments, river systems and other critical flood management structures, the official said.

To further strengthen the preparedness mechanism, field engineers, including Superintending Engineers (SEs) and Executive Engineers (EEs) of the Minor Irrigation (MI), Mega Lift Irrigation, Quality Assurance (QA), and Survey & Investigation (S&I) wings are in the districts of Cuttack, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur and Puri have been kept in full readiness and are prepared to move to the field at short notice, wherever required.

The Chief Engineer, Mahanadi, Brahmani and Baitarani Basin System (MBBS), visited the OAE-9B overflow section of the Kharsuan River near the Mahadev Temple at Govindpur under Aali Block to review the prevailing situation.

The overflowing section was successfully closed using sandbags to control the flow of water. All field-level officers are directed to vigil over the situation and take immediate preventive measures wherever necessary.