Dhamnagar: Massive flooding triggered by the swollen Baitarani River and its tributary, the Genguti, has submerged vast parts of Odisha’s Bhadrak district, affecting over 1.60 lakh people across 143 villages in Dhamnagar block and disrupting normal life on a large scale.
The floods have impacted 1,60,203 people in 30 gram panchayats, while incessant rainfall has also caused the Jaun River to overflow, inundating more than six wards of Dhamnagar NAC. Dhusuri NAC has also been affected.
The worst-hit panchayats include Anandapur, Khadipada, Sohada, Karda, Padhani, Mustafapur, Arjunapur, Hasanabad, Bhattasahi, Palsahi, Bamkura, Kashimpur, Kothar, Gadiali and Asurali. More than 34,000 livestock remain stranded in floodwaters, prompting the deployment of three veterinary teams for animal care.
In a show of on-ground leadership, Odisha’s Higher Education Minister and local MLA Surjyabanshi Suraj personally reviewed the flood situation by wading through waist-deep water in Kakudigadia village. Earlier in the day, he chaired a high-level review meeting with district and block officials at the Dhamnagar block office and directed authorities to ensure uninterrupted supply of cooked food, drinking water, flattened rice, puffed rice, biscuits, sugar and jaggery to marooned residents.
While water levels have stabilised in parts of Dhamnagar, floodwaters continue to rise in Dhusuri, entering homes in villages under Patrisahi, Surajpur, Harihans, Kakudigadia, Balichaturi and Asurali panchayats. The minister also interacted with affected families to assess their immediate needs.
The district administration has evacuated 15,466 people from vulnerable low-lying areas to flood shelters and safer locations. Cooked meals have been prepared at 140 relief centres over Tuesday and Wednesday, benefiting nearly 20,000 people. Authorities have also distributed 93 quintals of flattened rice (chuda) along with 10 quintals of sugar and jaggery among families stranded in flood-hit villages.
Relief centres remain operational in Dakshinkurua, Muthanagar, Kanjipal (Khadipada), Kharakhai (Karda), Padhani, Sohada, Arjunapur, Palsahi, Asurali, Hasanabad and Phalapur, where bottled drinking water is also being supplied. During his visit, the minister personally served cooked food to displaced residents taking shelter on the Ghodagand embankment in Mustafapur.
The floods have also dealt a severe blow to agriculture. Preliminary estimates indicate that more than 40,000 hectares of farmland are under water. With the paddy transplantation season underway, officials fear extensive crop losses if floodwaters do not recede soon.
Authorities have intensified surveillance of vulnerable embankments along the Baitarani River. Joint teams from the Water Resources Department and the police are carrying out round-the-clock patrolling after water began flowing over the left-bank embankment near Babusahi in Anandapur panchayat. Another stretch near Sendhapur in Sohada panchayat is on the verge of submergence. The situation is considered most critical at Kanjipal village in Khadipada panchayat, where floodwater from the Genguti is entering through the Gaichhanda, Mathamahara and Kanakei escape channels.
Rescue operations have been significantly strengthened with the deployment of three NDRF teams and seven ODRAF teams. Two NDRF teams have been kept on standby in the rising-water areas of Dhusuri and Asurali, while another is stationed for the Dobal zone. Three ODRAF teams deployed through Jajpur district are operating in the eight panchayats of the Dobal zone from Sendhapur, Gaurangapur and Padhani, while three more have been positioned in Dhusuri and Asurali and one in Dhamnagar. The local fire service has also been mobilised.
ODRAF personnel have already rescued several people stranded in Sujansinghpur and Malsahi under Karda panchayat and Sapuapatana in Khadipada panchayat, shifting them to safety.
Floodwaters have snapped road connectivity across large parts of Dhamnagar, Dhusuri, Dobal and Asurali, leaving many villages cut off from the outside world. Markets at Dobal and Mustafapur have been inundated after Genguti waters entered the commercial areas.
The submergence of the road near Ghodagand nala has completely disrupted connectivity between Dhamnagar and Dobal, Khadipada, Anandapur, Sohada and Jajpur town. Traffic has also come to a standstill on the Khadipada-Anandapur, Dobal-Sendhapur and Bedapur-Sohada roads after floodwater flowed through three escape channels at Kanjipal. The Dhamnagar-Phalapur road remains submerged, isolating Dalang and Nadigaon panchayats, while the state highway connecting Kothar and Aradi is under water at several locations, including Kothar Chhak, Balichaturi, Surajpur, Betaligaon and Patrisahi. Vehicular movement on the Mangalpur-Katsahi road has also been completely suspended.
