Flood Fury / Odisha Floods Claim 7 Lives, Damage 18,076 Houses And 2.12 Lakh Hectares Of Crops

Bhubaneswar, Sep 24: Floods have claimed seven lives and killed 93 domestic animals in Odisha this year, while 18,076 houses have been damaged and 2,12,533 hectares of crops affected, according to a written reply by Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari in the Odisha Assembly.

The government has so far provided Rs 234.84 crore towards compensation for personal losses caused by the floods.

According to the minister's reply, Rs 33 crore has been provided as housing assistance, while Rs 151 crore has been allocated towards crop damage. Assistance worth Rs 9.47 crore has been provided for clothing and another Rs 9.47 crore for utensils.

The government has also allocated Rs 4 crore for the restoration of sand-cast agricultural land.

As part of relief measures, 15,715 quintals of rice, 1,448 quintals of jaggery, 4,127 metric tonnes of cattle feed and 28,651 polythene sheets have been distributed.

Upper Indravati Reservoir Level Rises
Meanwhile, the water level of the Upper Indravati Reservoir in Kalahandi has increased amid continued rainfall in the catchment area.

Also Read: Indravati Gate Opens after 7 Years, Hirakud Hits Maximum Level as Odisha Braces Heavy Rain

As of 8am on September 24, the reservoir level stood at 640.250 metres against the Full Reservoir Level of 642 metres. Its live storage stood at 1,26,108 hectare-metres, accounting for 84.89 per cent of the total live storage capacity.

The reservoir area recorded 45.60 mm of rainfall in the past 24 hours. Since June 1, the cumulative rainfall has reached 1,819.74 mm.

The reservoir is currently receiving 406.583 cubic metres of water per second, while total discharge stands at 342.208 cubic metres per second.

Of the total discharge, 200.763 cubic metres per second is being released through the power house, 132.623 cubic metres per second through the spillway and 5.15 cubic metres per second through the sluice towards the Indravati River.

One of the 12 spillway gates is currently open.

Hydropower Generation Continues
Hydropower generation at the reservoir is also continuing. A total of 14,455 megawatt-hours of electricity has been generated so far, with average generation reported at 602.292 megawatt-hours per hour.

On the corresponding date last year, the reservoir level stood at 638.370 metres. This year, it has risen to 640.250 metres.

The latest Upper Indravati Reservoir data was released by the Podagada Dam Division, Khatiguda.