As per the dam authorities the gates will be open in a phased manner starting from 5 pm today.
“Taking into account the heavy rain condition in upper and lower catchment areas in last two days a decision has been taken to open the gates. However, there is nothing to get panicked about as the move will not create flood situation in the downstream areas,” said Ananda Chandra Sahu, Chief Engineer of the dam.
Water level has risen to 626.27 feet in Hirakud against its storage capacity of 630 feet. As the reservoir has a cushion of around 3 feet there is a requirement of release for only 1 lakh cusec of water, Sahu added.
Notably, a low pressure area developed over the Bay of Bengal on Saturday morning later developed into a depression to trigger heavy rainfall in Odisha. Due to the prevailing severe weather condition several rivers in the State are in spate.
