Houses damaged, bridge submerged as rain batters Odisha

Bhubaneswar: At least 40 houses were damaged in Koraput and 60 'kutcha' houses destroyed in Kandhamal district, while a bridge was submerged cutting off road links from Malkangiri to Motu and schools were shut in Bolangir district as heavy rain lashed Odisha on Thursday.The IMD forecast more showers for Friday.

The Special Relief Commissioner's (SRC) office said reports of 40 houses damaged in Koraput and 63 'kutcha' houses destroyed in Kandhamal district have been received. The Bolangir district administration announced the closure of all schools and Anganwadi centres in the district. Bolangir block received the highest rainfall of 215 mm in the State. The rainfall caused havoc in Malkangiri, Kandhamal and Bolangir districts. In Malkangiri district, MV-96 bridge along National Highway No. 326 at Kalimela has been submerged. Flood water is reportedly flowing above the bridge and many others, official sources said, adding that communication from Malkangiri to Motu has been snapped. The rainfall also affected normal life in Kandhamal district. The low-pressure area in the Bay of Bengal has intensified and become well-marked and is expected to move across Odisha and Chhattisgarh during the next two days, the IMD said. The southwest monsoon has also been vigorous over the State, leading to very heavy shower in Bolangir and Rayagada districts in the past 24 hours.

''With intense spells of rain continuing during the next 24 hours, flash floods may occur in interior pockets with the likely increase in the water level of rivers in the State,'' weather scientist Umashankar Das of Regional Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar, told reporters. The intensity of rainfall will gradually decline from September 15, he added.

The Met office said Odisha recorded 49.3 mm rainfall in the last 24 hours till 8.30 am and an average of 189.9 mm from September 1 to 14 against the month's average of 231.9 mm. Meanwhile, the IMD issued Red Warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall in Bolangir, Kalahandi, Sonepur, Bargarh, Nuapada and Sambalpur districts and Orange Warning of heavy rainfall at a few places in Nabarangpur, Kandhamal, Boudh, Cuttack, Deogarh, Jharsuguda, Sundargarh, Angul and Dhenkanal districts on Thursday. The IMD also issued a yellow warning in Nabarangpur, Nuapada, Bargarh, Jharsuguda and Sundargarh districts on Friday.

Water Resources department Engineer-in-Chief Bhakta Ranjan Mohanty said the State government is ready for any situation. He said the upper catchment areas of the Mahanadi river received an average rainfall of around 37 mm and there has been a decline in rainfall intensity in lower catchment areas. There is no possibility of flood now, Mohanty said. A peak inflow of around 2,00,000 cusecs is expected to enter Hirakud reservoir. The authorities have opened 10 gates of Hirakud and the current water level of the reservoir stands at 628.77 feet. Meanwhile, a man drowned while another went missing while fishing in a river in Bolangir on Thursday. Golekh Podha, Pramod Podha and Rajani Podha of Pipilipali village under Agalpur block of the district went for fishing in the river. While they were fishing, the water level of the river suddenly rose due to heavy rain in the catchment areas.

All three of them were washed away by the sudden gush of water. On being informed, the Fire Brigade reached the spot.

Golekh and Rajani were traced and sent to Community Health Centre at Agalpur. But the doctors declared Golekh brought dead. Pramod is reported missing.