Cyclonic storm ‘Daye’ wreaks havoc in Malkangiri

District officials rescued 150 villagers of Potteru and accommodated them in relief camp set up at the local police station.
Villagers wade through knee-deep water at Potteru village after heavy rains lashed Malkangiri district on Friday | Express
Villagers wade through knee-deep water at Potteru village after heavy rains lashed Malkangiri district on Friday | Express

MALKANGIRI: Malkangiri is facing a flood-like situation in the wake of heavy rainfall triggered by cyclonic storm ‘Daye’. Korukonda block in the district is the worst hit as it received 403 mm rainfall in the last 24 hours. The district received a total of 1,163.8 mm rain since Thursday. Roads and houses at many places were damaged while standing paddy crops were under knee-deep water.

Four gates - gate 4, 5, 6 and 8 - of Balimela Dam at Chitrakonda were opened on Friday to discharge flood water from the dam reservoir as water level stood at 1,515.2 ft against the full reservoir level (FRL) of 1,516.00 ft. Two villages of Malkangiri block and three colonies under Malkangiri Municipality were completely inundated.

In Korkunda block, two villages were affected. Potteru village, 25 km from district headquarters town, was marooned and water was flowing five feet above the Potteru bridge disrupting communication between Malkangiri and Motu.

District officials rescued 150 villagers of Potteru and accommodated them in relief camp set up at the local police station. Free kitchen has been opened and cooked food is being provided to the affected people. Landslide was reported from Chitrakonda.

Damage was also extensive in and around Malkangiri town. While the mega nursery on the outskirts of the town was inundated, rain water entered Janbai Hospital. The Jaduguda eco-tourism spot near Padmagiri was waterlogged. Vehicular communication between Malkangiri and Chitrakonda via Balimela was hit as water was flowing above the bridges at MV-11, Korukonda and Tarlakota.

Collector Manish Agarwal said eight free kitchens have been opened in the district at different places. More kitchens will be opened after getting damage reports from Podia, Kalimela, Motu and Chitrakonda, Agarwal added.

One ODRAF team from Koraput has been deployed in Malkangiri for rescue operations. No causalities have been reported so far from anywhere in the district.

No major damage in Ganjam
‘Daye’ hit Gopalpur early on Friday but did not cause much damage in Ganjam district. Under its impact, the district witnessed strong winds accompanied by heavy rains. In some areas, trees were uprooted and thatched houses damaged. The district administration had shifted residents of villages located close to the sea to prevent casualties. However, low lying areas in Berhampur were waterlogged. Roads in Gajapati Nagar, Gosaninuagaon, Neelachalnagar, Gandhinagar and bank colony remained waterlogged till evening.

Fishermen yet to be traced
Paradip: HEAVY rainfall for the last three days has hit life in Jagastinghpur district. Owing to the heavy wind and tidal waves, 15 fishermen were stranded in deep sea after their boats developed snag this week. While the Indian Coast Guard (ICG)  personnel launched a search operation on Friday, they could not locate the fishermen owing to the weather condition. Three days back, eight fishermen had gone to the sea in a boat ‘Nirman’ for fishing despite cyclone alert. Sources said the fan belts of the boat engine developed snag and they could not return to the coast.

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