Bhubaneswar, Heavy rain due to a deep depression lashed coastal and southern Odisha on Tuesday, forcing the government to close schools, cancel employees’ leaves and deploy teams in vulnerable areas to prepare for a possible calamity.
With the weather department forecasting that the inclement weather would continue, Khurda, Jagatsinghpur, Ganjam and Gajapati district administrations closed schools for the day while Malkangiri declared that schools would be closed till September 24. Authorities in Koraput and Kalahandi districts have directed teachers not to leave their place of posting until September 25. Officials said the leave of government employees has been cancelled due to the prevailing weather conditions in Ganjam, Koraput and Kalahandi. Ferry service between Satapada and Jahnikuda in Chilika Lake will remain suspended for four days, until September 25, due to the prevailing weather conditions.
The government has restricted vehicular movement on certain roads, including at Kalinga Ghat connecting Ganjam and Kandhamal.
Odisha Chief Secretary Anu Garg said the collectors of 11 districts have been put on high alert as the IMD had forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall in the southern and coastal region of the state and warned of severe waterlogging, urban flooding, incidents of landslides, mudslides and other such incidents. The IMD’s Bhubaneswar centre Director Manorama Mohanty said rainfall had started in different parts of the state and was likely to continue until September 25. A red alert has been issued for parts of southern Odisha for September 23-25. Heavy to very heavy rainfall, with extremely heavy rain at isolated places, is likely in Koraput, Gajapati and Ganjam on September 23-24. Kalahandi, Nabarangpur, Koraput and Malkangiri have also been put under red alert for September 24-25.
“We have been informed by the IMD that the system could intensify into a deep depression, but not a cyclone,” the chief secretary said, adding the government has put required personnel ready to handle extremely heavy rainfall.
