Bhubaneswar: Due to law pressure, which intensified into a deep depression, maximum parts of Odisha have been witnessing heavy to very heavy rainfall during the past few days. Koraput and Malkangiri districts have remained most affected, said Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Deo Ranjan Kumar Singh here today.
With heavy rainfall situation remained grim in Malkangiri district, the State Government has deputed three senior officers SSEPD Principal Secretary Bishnupada Sethi and Fire Service DG Sundhansu Sarangi and DIG Southern Range Charan Singh Meena to the district to supervise and assist district administration in disaster management.
.While the situation in Koraput has slightly improved, the heavy rain situation remained a concern in Malkangiri district, he said. More than 600 people residing in low lying areas have been evacuated to shelter homes in the two districts.
Malkangiri District Collector Ashish Iswar Patil has announced the closure of all schools and anganwadi kendras on Tuesday in view of the inclement weather.
According to the SRC, floodwater is overflowing all the bridges from Pangam to Motu Road in Malkangiri, affecting road communication at 8 places. While 6 villages in Malkangiri and Kalimela blocks of the district were affected, 504 people so far have been evacuated and sheltered in 4 relief camps. Two units of ODRAF have deployed in the district.
In Koraput, 36 villages in Jeypore, Boipariguda, Kundra, Borigumma, Semiliguda and Koraput blocks have been affected. While 150 houses have been partially damaged, road communication from Digapur to Kundra is disrupted due with flood water flowing over Biri Nadi bridge. In total, communication has been snapped at 6 places. A total of 56 people have been shifted to 2 relief camps and provided cooked food. One unit of ODRAF has deployed in the district.
Shri Singh said 18 teams of ODRAF (Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force) have been deployed in the districts of Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Ganjam, Kandhamal, Boudh and Bolangir. The state government has also kept 12 other teams on standby in Ganjam, Khurda, Puri, Nayagarh and Boudh.
Fire Service and NDRF personnel have also been deployed in the rain-affected districts, officials said.
Other districts that received heavy rain in the past 24 hours till 8.30 am on Monday were Chitrakonda and Khairput blocks (over 200 mm) in Malkangiri, while several blocks in Korukunda, Mathili, Kalimela in the same district recorded over 100-mm rainfall, along with Borigumma, Boipariguda and Lamtapur of Koraput district. The state received an average rainfall of 30.4 mm during the period, the Met office said.
Meanwhile, Water Resources Engineer-in-Chief Chandrasekhar Padhi told reporters that minor floods could take place in the Mahanadi river system under the impact of the deep depression.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi held a discussion with Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari, and issued instructions to senior officials and district collectors of Malkangiri and Koraput to take immediate measures to supervise and assist the district administration in relief measures. Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja has also reviewed the situation in the morning.