Bhubaneswar, Sep 18
The flood situation in Odisha's Balasore district due to heavy rainfall remained grim on Wednesday, affecting six blocks of the district, following which authorities evacuated around 2,000 people to safer places.
Chief Minister Mohan Majhi on Wednesday conducted aerial inspection of the flood-hit areas of Balasore and held a meeting with officials of district administration.
Health & Family Welfare Department Minister Mukesh Mahaling accompanied the Chief Minister during the aerial inspection and the flood review meeting in Balasore.
Speaking to mediapersons in Balasore, CM Majhi stated that the flood situation arose due to torrential rains in Mayurbhanj district and neighbouring states of Jharkhand and West Bengal as well as in Balasore district, adding the situation still remains grim.
The Chief Minister said that during the aerial inspection of the affected areas by helicopter he witnessed the severity of the situation which still remains critical.
He said that over 8,000 hectares of land remain inundated.
CM Majhi also stated that as today (Wednesday) is Purnima or the full moon day, high tidal waves in the sea hit the shoreline which is further delaying the draining out of flood water.
Besides, 35 Gram Panchayats in three blocks are affected due to the flood and remain under water.
CM Majhi told the media that the district administration has evacuated 2,000 people from the low-lying areas and the villages where the flood water has breached into.
"They are being provided with cooked food and other necessary items. As many as eight fire services department teams, three Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) teams and one National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team have been engaged in rescue operations in the villages were cut-off completely.
"The Collector and other officials of the district administration have kept the flood situation under 24 hours' observation," added CM Majhi.
The Chief Minister told mediapersons that the Odisha government is taking all the steps for controlling the flood in Subarnarekha river and other rivers.
Water Resources Department has been directed to prepare a roadmap for a permanent solution to control the flood and release of flood water. The government will take steps after getting a report in this regard.
He hoped that the situation would return to normalcy within a day.
The Chief Minister also said that the Chief District Medical Officer of Balasore has been instructed to take steps to deal with incidents of snakebites and waterborne diseases as post flood preventive measures.