Overview
- Officials began the operation at about 11:00 am Thursday by opening four of Hirakud's 67 sluice gates as the first phase of the monsoon release.
- Engineer-in-Chief Dillip Kumar Rout said the initial gate release and power-channel flows total roughly 64,000 cusecs from the gates plus 25,000 cusecs via the power channel and 5,000 cusecs through canals with further gates to be opened in phases.
- The move follows a reservoir level of 611.23 feet against a full level of 630 feet and recent inflows of about 2.62 lakh cusecs, which prompted managers to create extra storage for expected rain.
- A high-level flood-management meeting led by the Central Water Commission and including Odisha and Chhattisgarh engineers is guiding the operation and monitoring downstream river conditions.
- Authorities say downstream discharge at Mundali has been falling and that they judge the release unlikely to cause flooding, but they will adjust gate openings based on incoming flows and river measurements to protect communities downstream.