Bhubaneswar – Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi commenced an aerial survey on Sunday over Ganjam, Koraput, and Nabarangpur, where heavy rains have caused rivers to swell, leading to significant flooding in 13 districts. Local authorities are actively relocating residents to safer areas as the situation develops.
Similipal National Park Temporarily Closes Devkund to Tourists
Authorities at Similipal National Park in Mayurbhanj have announced the temporary closure of the popular tourist site, Devkund. This decision comes as several streams and water channels in the area have swollen significantly, posing potential safety risks to visitors.
In view of the calamity, Majhi decided to review the situation along with Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari and the state’s Special Relief Commissioner Rajesh Prabhakar Patil. The chief minister will cover badly affected areas in Ganjam, Koraput and Nabarangpur districts in the southern region before landing at Jeypore in Koraput district to hold a review meeting. Because of a technical snag in the helicopter, sources said, however, their survey was delayed by around two hours.
By Saturday, the state government moved more than 70,000 people from low-lying areas and housed them in 395 relief camps as their villages came under water. The recent deep depression over the Bay of Bengal resulted in heavy rainfall and flooding in 13 districts Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Mayurbhanj, Kalahandi, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Malkangiri, Keonjhar, Nayagarh, Kandhamal, Bolangir and Jagatsinghpur, officials said. The water level of the Subarnarekha River was flowing at 11.68 metres at Jaleswar’s Rajghat at 6 am against the danger level of 10.36 metres.
This has led to flooding in the villages in Bhograi, Jaleswar, Baliapal and Basta blocks, officials said.
