Administration gears up for relief and rescue

CUTTACK: With more than 133 villages in four blocks caught in the grip of severe flood as of now, Cuttack district waits with fear and anxiety for the passage of the peak water flow through the Mahanadi and the Kathjodi rivers by Saturday morning.More than 13 lakh cusecs of water is expected to flow through the rivers aggravating the flood situation in the district on Saturday even as the administrative machinery is being mobilised in all the blocks and the vulnerable zones to be ready for relief and rescue operations.Over 500 people from the Ranibhauni village under Narsinghpur block were evacuated to safer places on Friday as the swelling rivers caused widespread inundation and submergence in the low-lying areas.Around 300 families from the slum pockets that have come up on the outer slopes of the Mahanadi and the Kathjodi rivers in Cuttack city were also shifted to the upper reaches of the embankments.Vast areas of Banki and Athgarh subdivisions were cut off from the mainland due to water ingress from the Mahanadi river.Three villages of Brajrajpur, Basudevpur, Mulabasantpur under Mahanga block and several villages under Banki and Athgarh blocks were reported to have been marooned.The passage of the huge volume of water released from Hirakud reservoir by Saturday morning is poised to cause more widespread devastation in the district.Water level at the Bellevue gauge point hovered around 21.50 ft on Friday evening. It would cross the danger mark by night, sources said.Revenue Minister Surya Narayan Patro on Friday visited Cuttack and reviewed the situation with Collector Girish SN and other administration officials.The Collector said village-level teams have been formed at all the blocks to respond to the emergency situation at the earliest.They have been provided with emergency relief materials like polythene, dry food products, kerosene and medicines to deal with the situation till additional assistance reached the marooned and cut-off pockets.ODRAF teams have been stationed at Banki, Tigiria, Sadar and Nischintkoili blocks to undertake immediate operations.Around 44 identified vulnerable points in the embankments in the district were provided with special personnel to undertake 24-hour vigil and carry out necessary containment exercises during the eventualities.