20 die in Odisha floods; more rains likely

The State revenue department has estimated the death toll in the floods as 20 on Tuesday evening, but the numbers could rise as nine persons are found to be missing.  

The report has also said that nearly 20 lakh people in the districts have been affected by the flood.

Though water in the rivers have been receding, as many as 112 villages are still submerged. In all, the deluge has hit 3973 villages.

Meanwhile, a high-level meeting chaired by revenue and disaster management minister Surya Narayan Patra on Tuesday decided to send secretaries of various departments to the flood-hit area to oversee relief efforts.

Gates of the Hirakud dam in western Odisha’s Sambalpur district have been shut down as rainfall in the upper catchment area subsided, resulting in falling of water levels in various rivers, including the state’s biggest river the Mahanadi.

People in the affected villages have started to return home following improvement in flood situation.  Congress and the BJP are blaming the state government for mismanaging the Hirakud dam, which, they say, has lead to the man-made floods.