Rivers Swell Across Rayagada
Dr.Badal Tah,Odishabarta
Vansadhara, Nagavali and Jhanjavati cross zero levels but remain below critical marks; authorities keep watch amid continued rain
Rayagada, September 24: Continuous rainfall has pushed up water levels in major rivers across Rayagada district, with the Vansadhara, Nagavali and Jhanjavati recording substantial levels on Thursday morning. While the rivers remained below their reported warning or historical high-flood marks at the monitoring points, the sustained rainfall has kept irrigation and district authorities on alert.
At Badanala Irrigation Project (Kenduguda Dam), the reservoir level reached 175.07 metres at 6 am, against its Full Reservoir Level of 176 metres. The reservoir received an inflow of 61.422 cubic metres per second (cumecs). However, only 0.464 cumecs was going out as evaporation loss, with no discharge through the spillway or canal. All eight radial gates remained closed. The dam has a live storage capacity of 6,714 hectare-metres, of which 5,073.48 ham, or 75.57 per cent, was available on Thursday morning. The dam site received 11 mm rainfall in the preceding 24 hours, while Padmapur recorded 22 mm.
The Vansadhara at Gunupur stood at 81.95 metres, against a warning level of 83 metres and danger level of 84 metres. The river was therefore 1.05 metres below the warning mark. Gunupur received 23.8 mm rainfall during the last 24 hours, taking cumulative rainfall to 939.6 mm. It crossed the zero level of 78.25mtr.
At Gudari, the Vansadhara was flowing at 114.65 metres, against a zero level of 113.64 metres. The station recorded 30.6 mm rainfall during the preceding 24 hours, with cumulative rainfall reaching 940.4 mm.
At Kutragad, monitored by the Central Water Commission, the Vansadhara stood at 258.36 metres. The location recorded 9.8 mm rainfall in the last 24 hours and cumulative rainfall of 1,010.20 mm. Its zero level is 257.30 metres, while the historical HFL is 269.84 metres, recorded in 1991.
The Nagavali at Jagaguda, another key monitoring point, stood at 153.46 metres, against a zero level of 152 metres and an HFL of 157.25 metres. The station received 39.40 mm rainfall, taking cumulative rainfall to 926.40 mm.
The Jhanjavati river was at 116.62 metres at 8 am, compared with a zero level of 110 metres and an HFL of 119.22 metres. The river was thus 2.60 metres below its recorded HFL.
With cumulative rainfall crossing 900 mm at several monitoring stations and the reservoir holding more than three-fourths of its live storage capacity, the situation remains under close watch. The latest readings, however, show that the monitored river levels have not yet reached their reported critical thresholds.
