Rivers in spate, Cuttack on edge

CUTTACK: With the Mahanadi and the Kathjodi rivers in spate, Cuttack has been put on high alert. The administration is keeping a close watch on vulnerable and low-lying areas of the district and the City.  With water levels in both the rivers rising, reports of people shifting to the higher areas from the low-lying pockets of the district have begun to trickle in. More than 395 students along with 60 staff members of Saraswati Sishu Mandir residential school at Gatiroutpatna had to be shifted to the Nuabazaar Saraswati Sishu Mandir school on Thursday evening as the swelling Mahanadi threatened to overflow the banks and inundate the premises. People from slum pockets on the outer slopes of the embankments of both the Mahanadi and the Kathjodi rivers were also preparing to shift to the upper reaches. Over 1,500 people are residing in dangerous conditions in the slums that have come up on the riverside slopes. Arrangements have been made to provide temporary shelter and relief to them, administration officials said.By evening, the water-level at the Bellevue gauge on the Kathjodi river had gone up to 17.25 ft and was rising. With the water flow at Naraj hovering around the danger mark of 26.41 metre and the passage of over 10 lakh cusec of water from Munduli, the possibility of the Kathjodi crossing the danger level of 22.5 ft by Friday morning is imminent. Already, there have been reports of submergence of many vulnerable pockets in Banki, Athgarh and other downstream low-lying regions. Water from the Mahanadi overflowed at Banki to inundate the famous Bhattarika temple, reports said.The administration, however, expressed readiness to tackle the emerging situation. As of now, there is no cause to alarm but the evolving situation is under keen watch. All the BDOs and block-level machinery have been galvanised with rescue and relief measures. As many as 14 powerboats and 139 country boats have been mobilised to deal with any eventuality. “There are about 44 vulnerable pockets in the district. All necessary items like polythene, food and emergency rations along with medicines have been made available at all blocks,” Sub-Collector JP Das said.