Government failed to manage Hirakud: Congress

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BHUBANESWAR: The Congress also joined the BJP on Tuesday in blaming the BJD Government for the severe flood that has wreaked havoc..

BHUBANESWAR: The Congress also joined the BJP on Tuesday in blaming the BJD Government for the severe flood that has wreaked havoc in the State. Terming the floods manmade, the OPCC accused the BJD of failing to provide relief to the marooned people after its inability in preventing the calamity was exposed.
"The devastating flood in the Mahanadi river system was manmade. It was the outcome of the State Government's inability to properly manage water in Hirakud dam," OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik told mediapersons here. The floods could have been averted had the Government taken timely action in managing water in Hirakud reservoir in an effective manner, he said after a Congress team visited several floodravaged areas.

Niranjan said there was heavy rainfall in the OrissaChhattisgarh border areas from September 5 but there was wrong calculation about the inflow of water into the dam. No precautionary measures were taken to prevent the flood in the coastal region, he said.

Hitting out at the Naveen regime for the manner in which the flood situation was handled, Niranjan alleged the Government's role in undertaking relief and rescue operation in the aftermath of the floods was also

dismal.

Plight of lakhs of floodhit people has multiplied as the administration is ill prepared to deal with the situation, the Congress leader alleged that relief materials could not be sent to the marooned as most of the boats available

for the purpose were nonfunctional.

A large number of breaches took place in the Mahanadi river system which submerged almost half of the State due to the Government's failure to fortify embankments, Niranjan alleged.