The Mahanadi river.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Bhubaneswar: Odisha's Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Satyabrata Sahu on Friday alerted the collectors of 10 districts after the water level in Mahanadi River increased due to the discharge of water from Hirakud Dam.
The districts that were put on alert were Sambalpur, Sonepur, Nayagarh, Angul, Boudh, Puri, Khuda, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara.
A total of 5.78 lakh cusecs of water was flowing in Mahanadi at Mundali at 8 am on Friday, a senior official said.
Sahu asked the collectors to give special attention to people living in low-lying areas.
Meanwhile, six more sluice gates were opened at Hirakud Dam to release more water after rain in the upper catchment areas of Mahanadi.
Currently, water is being released through 14 gates, including nine on the left spillway and five on the right spillway of the reservoir.
The water level of the dam stood at 612.25 ft at 6 am against its full reservoir level of 630 ft.
Chief Engineer of the Water Resources Department, Bhakta Ranjan Mohanty said that though some rivers were swelling, there was no fear of flood anywhere.
Meanwhile, reports said that the floodwater has already entered some low-lying areas of Khurda and Cuttack districts.