The flood situation in Orissa continues to remain grim with all rivers in the Mahanadi system flowing above danger level. An estimated five million people have been affected by the floods while another one million are still marooned in the districts of Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Jajpur, Nayagarh and Puri.
More than a hundred villages have been washed away in Orissa’s Cuttack district. The water level of the Mahanadi river has crossed the danger mark and with the river expected to be in high tide over the next few days, there is now a danger of the entire district being swept away.
More than 150 families of Mouza village are now living in tents. Most of Cuttack, 20 kms from Bhubaneshwar, is under water. For people here, mostly daily wage earners, the current floods are a grim reminder of the misery they went through during the 1999 supercyclone, which hit the state.
Cuttack district lies on the coastal belt with two rivers including the Mahanadi. The geographical position of Cuttack makes it vulnerable to floods. Reports of greater discharge of water from the Hirakud dam in western Orissa has also caused worry among people as it has increased the chances of Cuttack being submerged.
The district is encircled on three sides by Mahanadi and its branch Kathajodi, which also crossed the danger mark on Monday. Heavy rains in the catchment of Mahanadi, downstream of the vital Hirakud dam, had caused the Mahanadi to swell further.
Over the next two days, the Mahanadi is expected to be on high tide further submerging the district. For the people of Cuttack, each day brings apprehension and fear.
A top Central delegation reached Bhubaneshwar to take stock of the situation there. The Central team was led by Union Minister for Agriculture Nitish Kumar and included four Union Ministers from Orissa, Cabinet Secretary T R Prasad, Union Agriculture Secretary J L N Srivastav, Secretary in the Union Water Resources Ministry, Chairman of the Railway Board and Director of the Central Disaster Mitigation cell.
Nitish Kumar described the situation as “pretty bad” after an aerial survey of the situation accompanied by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
The Centre, which had made an ad hoc sanction of Rs 100 crore to meet the flood situation, has informed the state government that it had wiped out the Rs 220 crore overdraft pending against the state.