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Panic spread in Cuttack city on early Thursday morning as low-lying areas became submerged following rising water levels in the Mahanadi and Kathjodi.
"A fresh release of water from the Hirakud Dam is the reason, and there is a certain amount of panic in the city, with the fear being that Hirakud waters may enter the city by this evening," a senior administration official said.
The city is encircled on three sides by the Mahanadi and its tributary Kathjodi. The latter crossed the red mark two days ago and continues to flow above the danger mark, while the reservoir waters reached the Mahanadi river this morning and pushed its levels up as well.
As a result, low-lying areas including Markat Nagar, Bidanasi, Tulsipur and Chandni Chowk have become inundated.
Rising along with the water levels are the rumour levels, the latest one doing the rounds in Cuttack being that a fresh release of water from Hirakud is imminent and that if it happens, flood waters will enter the city later this evening.
People on the outskirts of Cuttack are reportedly already moving to higher areas.
Further fuelling the panic have been the mudslides and leakeages reported from the embankments. The district administration has acted to repair the weak sections of the embankments.
Sources in the revenue control room meanwhile said water levels in the Hirakud reservoir reached 628 feet as against the maximum permissible limit of 630 feet on Wednesday afternoon. While the inflow has been reported at 9 hundred thousand cusecs per second, the outflow is about 8 hundred thousand cusecs per second.
This situation means therefore that the water levels in the dam have been rising constantly, constituting a danger. Thus, 51 out of the total 52 sluice gates have been thrown open to discharge excess water.
A senior state government official pointed out that it was dangerous to allow water levels in the reservoir to cross 622 feet. "That it has now touched the 628 feet mark is alarming," the official, who is concerned with dam administration, pointed out.
The situation has been worsened by the fact that the Mahanadi itself has swollen due to heavy rains in the catchment areas in Chattisgarh.
State chief secretary D P Bagchi said there was no need for panic, however, and denied that there was any threat to Cuttack. He added that the administration remained on high alert and was prepared for all emergencies. That view was reiterated by district collector Aswini Kumar Baishnav as well.
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