Floods affect 2.5 lakh people in Balasore in Orissa

Bhubaneswar, Aug 2 (UNI) Over 2.5 lakh people in four blocks of Balasore district covering 313 villages have been affected due to the floods in the Subarnarekha and the Baitarani rivers caused by incessant rains following a depression over Bay of Bengal.

Orissa Revenue Minister Man Mohan Samal told newsmen here today that as many as 181 villages in Jaleswar, Bhograi, Basta and Baliapal blocks had been marooned while road communication between Basta to Baliapal and Jaleswar to Bhograi had been disrupted.

He said 421 families having a total of 2043 people had been evacuated to safer places and emergencey relief was being administered.

The incessant rains had also affected Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak and Jajpur districts.

In Bhadrak a small breach has occurred at Kochila right embankment near Naikani temple but no loss of life or property has been reported. The authority, he said evacuated 100 families in one NAC of Baripada in Mayurbhanj district and shifted to temporary shelter.

The Revenue Minister said crops over an area of 31,000 hectares had been affected and ten houses were damaged in Balasore district.

The Baitarani river has crossed the danger level at Akhuapada while the Bansadhara river was flowing above the danger level at Gunupur and Kashinagar, he added.

Meanwhile, a depression over the North West Bay of Bengal has further intensified into a deep depression and lay centred at about 50 kms away from Paradip by this noon.

The system is likely to intensify further and move in west north westerly direction to cause heavy to very heavy rains in most parts of coastal and north Orissa during the next 48 hours, Met sources here warned.

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