Sambalpur: Following less rainfall in the upper catchment areas of Mahanadi, the Hirakud dam authorities closed six more gates Saturday. They had also taken stock of the flood situation in lower catchment areas of the river before closing the sluice gates.
As of now, floodwaters are being discharged from 18 sluice gates. Yesterday 4,87,203 cusec water was entering the reservoir and the same amount of water was being released through 28 sluice gates. Against the retaining capacity of 630 ft of the reservoir, the water level stood at 628.83 ft.
Earlier in the morning, four gates were closed. By 10:00 am, the reservoir’s water level stood at 628.17 ft.
With 10 gates are closed now, the flood situation in low lying areas has started improving. The flood water at Mundali barrage in Cuttack district also remains stable.
Notably, the reservoir consists of 64 sluice gates with 24 on its right side and 40 on the left. 16,440 Cusec of floodwater is discharged from a single sluice gate when the Full Reservoir Level (FRL) reaches 630 ft.
PNN