Odisha: Schools shut in 4 districts due to heavy rain, govt on high alert

BHUBANESWAR: Schools remained closed in four Odisha districts on Monday, train services were briefly disrupted and the government placed its field machinery on high alert as heavy rainfall triggered by a deep depression over the Bay of Bengal lashed parts of the state, officials said.

Schools were closed in Jagatsinghpur , Sonepur, Mayurbhanj and Kendrapara as a precaution after the IMD forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall in these districts, they said. Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari, who chaired a high-level meeting to assess the situation, said there was no need to panic as the government was fully prepared to deal with any eventuality.

"We are expecting normal to heavy or extremely heavy rainfall during the 24 hours from this evening. Thereafter, the intensity of rainfall is likely to reduce. We are prepared to deal with the situation," Pujari said. He said water levels in all major rivers, including the Mahanadi, were below the danger mark and there was no immediate flood threat in Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and Balasore districts.

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Schools closed as Cuttack district records highest rainfall

"Field-level officials had been put on high alert and instructed to deploy pumps to drain water from low-lying areas in case of waterlogging," he added. Heavy rainfall also affected railway services on the Rayagada-Koraput route after water accumulated on tracks between Tikiri and Rauli stations in Rayagada district, officials said.

Train movement was restored after the water receded, they said. According to the IMD, Banki in Cuttack district recorded the highest rainfall in the state at 192 mm during the 24 hours till 8.30 am. Athagarh received 174 mm, while Sonepur and Kendrapara recorded 135 mm and 133 mm, respectively.

The IMD has issued a red alert for Sundargarh, Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj districts, forecasting heavy to very heavy rainfall, while an orange alert remains in force for 19 districts and a yellow alert for eight others.

The weather office advised fishermen not to venture into the sea along and off the Odisha coast till July 29. The IMD said the deep depression over the northwest Bay of Bengal was expected to cross the coast between Balasore in Odisha and Canning in West Bengal in the afternoon.