Hirakud Dam’s 14 Sluice Gates Opened To Release Excess Floodwater

Bhubaneswar: Following the rise in the water level in the reservoir of the Hirakud Dam due to torrential rains in the upper catchment area of Mahanadi six more sluice gates of the dam were opened on Friday morning to release excess floodwater.

Now floodwater is being released from the Hirakud reservoir through 14 gates sluice gates– nine on the left and five on the right.

The reservoir’s water level stood at 612.25 ft at 6.00 am against its water-holding capacity of 630 ft. The dam was releasing 286,136 cusec water by 6.00 am.

The Odisha SRC has alerted the district Collectors of the lower catchment area of Mahanadi to remain alert, especially the areas on the banks of the Mahanadi river and its tributaries in Sambalpur, Sonepur, Nayagarh, Angul, Boudh, Puri, Khordha, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, and Kendrapara district.

The SRC has asked the authorities in these areas to give special attention to the low-lying areas. Entry to the submerged/submersible, roads culverts, and bridges are to be restricted and any untoward incident is to be reported immediately, the SRC directed.