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Subernarekha in Mango on Friday. (Bhola Prasad)
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Officials of East Singhbhum district administration have been put on high alert after water levels in the Subernerekha and Kharkai rivers rose following incessant rain in the past 48 hours.
Sources said that the ravenous Subernarekha posed immediate threat of flash floods with water from Chandil Dam’s sluice gates being released since Thursday.
The water level at Chandil Dam is, currently, hovering around the 181.1 metre mark. Officials said this was a metre above the permissible level. Though nine out of the 13 sluice gates have been letting out excess water for close to 24 hours now, there has been no significant drop in the level of water in the reservoir.
Dhalbhum SDO Subodh Kumar told The Telegraph that the administration was monitoring the situation.
“We have instructed the Jamshedpur and Mango notified area committees to remain alert and respond quickly in case of an emergency. We are on our toes,” he said.
He added that the Kharkai River would pose a threat if water from Odisha’s Bankbil Dam was released.
“Though we do not have any data about the water level in Bankbil Dam, we are in touch with the authorities concerned,” the senior administrative official said.
He added that they had intensified efforts to set up relief camps and would swing into action if there was a flood, evacuating people from low-lying areas. “The Odisha authorities will get in touch with us before releasing water. We will then initiate our rescue efforts,” he said.
Assurances notwithstanding, residents of Shastrinagar, Azadnagar and Gaur Bustee, are spending sleepless nights. “We heard that the Kharkai River is in spate. The intensity of rainfall has eased. We are hoping that the Odisha authorities will not have to release water from Bankbil Dam and accentuate our miseries,” said Dineshwar Prasad, a Shastrinagar resident.
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