Sambalpur: The authorities of Hirakud Dam in Odisha’s Sambalpur district released this season’s first floodwaters of Mahanadi on Thursday.
According to sources, the authorities opened gate no-7 at 10 am after performing the rituals. Later, they opened four more gates.
Stating that the outflow of floodwaters from one gate is 16,600 cusecs per second, the dam authorities said that five more gates will be opened in phases later in the day.
Prior to the release of the floodwaters, the dam authorities and the district administration had warned the people living near the river bank areas against venturing into the river bed.
The dam authorities had decided to release the floodwaters as the inflow volume of the floodwaters into the reservoir had gone up due to heavy rainfall in the upper catchments of the dam and the water level of the dam had crossed 615 feet as against its optimum level of 630 feet.