SAMBALPUR: Low pressure in the northwest and heavy rainfall in the upstream of Hirakud dam in Chhattisgarh resulted in flood, affecting 14 districts of the State, said Revenue and Disaster Management Minister S N Patra.Addressing mediapersons after a whirlwind tour of the affected areas in the district, Patra said the situation would improve as the low pressure is moving towards Jharkhand.He said it was unlikely that more gates of the Hirakud dam would be opened to release flood water.Informing about the assessment of the Water Resources Department, he said 13,50,000 cusec water reached Munduli in Cuttack by 3 pm on Saturday and the situation can be gauged by Saturday night.Stating that the State Government was ready to handle any eventuality, he tried to play down the situation by saying that in 2008 flood, 15,00,000 cusec of water was released from Munduli.The Minister said cooked food would be provided to the affected people for seven days.“The District Collector has been asked to assess the loss and compensation would be paid accordingly,” he added.Meanwhile, the inflow of water to Hirakud dam has reduced to 9,74,414 cusec and the outflow is maintained at the same level in a bid to contain the flood situation.Water continues to be discharged through 55 sluice gates and four crest gates of the dam.However, there is no change in the flood situation in Sambalpur town.Official estimate puts number of the affected persons at 15,000 who have been shifted to 65 relief centres in Sambalpur, Hirakud and Burla NAC.Although the situation has improved in Naktideul block of Rairakhol sub-division in the district, one death has been reported from Girishchandrapur village.The deceased has been identified as Sayanti Kalo who died after a wall in her house collapsed after flood water gushed in.Revenue Minister Patra had to face an embarrassing situation at relief centres in Samaleswari College and Lady Lewis School with people accusing the State Government of failing in reaching out to the flood-hit on time.
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