Bhubaneswar: A second spell of flooding has worsened the flood situation in Odisha’s Bhadrak district, with overflowing rivers inundating vast stretches of Basudevpur and Dhamanagar blocks, leaving hundreds of people stranded and causing extensive damage to agriculture.
The fresh surge in water levels came as the Kansabansa, Gamei, Nuanai, Kanchudi, Dhalanai and Mantei rivers overflowed, submerging villages, disrupting road connectivity and inundating thousands of acres of farmland.
According to officials, all 36 gram panchayats under Basudevpur block, along with parts of the Basudevpur municipality, have been affected. Water has entered several low-lying villages, forcing residents to move to safer locations, while prolonged waterlogging has raised fears of heavy losses to paddy nurseries and recently sown crops.
The latest flooding has compounded the hardships of people still recovering from the first spell of inundation, with many families facing shortages of drinking water, food and other essential supplies. Authorities are continuing rescue and relief operations in vulnerable areas while closely monitoring river levels.
Amid the flood devastation, a dramatic rescue unfolded in Dhamanagar block, where a farmer survived nearly 24 hours atop a palm tree after being trapped by rapidly rising floodwaters.
The incident occurred at Gondicha Sahi village, where farmer Trilochana Sahu had gone to work in his fields on Wednesday morning. As floodwaters rose swiftly, cutting off all escape routes, he climbed a nearby palm tree to save his life and remained stranded there overnight without food or drinking water.
After learning that his father was missing, Trilochana’s son, Saroj Sahu, alerted Dhamanagar MLA and Odisha higher education minister Suryabanshi Suraj, who immediately directed local officials to launch a rescue operation.
On Thursday morning, a joint team of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and the district administration reached the spot and safely rescued the farmer from the tree after nearly 24 hours of ordeal.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
