Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday made an aerial survey of the flood-hit areas, especially in the coastal region, and announced a 15-day relief package for the affected.

Around 4.67 lakh people in 10 districts have been affected by the floods. At least 60,000 people have been evacuated to safe places.

Naveen announced a 15-day relief package for the worst hit by the calamity.

Relief would also be provided to the suffering people in Sambalpur. Baragarh, Sonepur, Boudh and Angul districts.

Naveen also directed officials to give a detailed report on the flood related damages after water subsides within seven days. “All the assistance related to the house and crop damage would be provided within 15 days,” Naveen said.

Meanwhile, the Puri district administration has announced a shutdown of schools for two days in view of the floods. The Odisha Public Service Commission has postponed the ASO (Assistant Section Officer) written examination, scheduled to be held on Sunday, until further order.

Hundreds of villages in the coastal region of the state are still marooned following floods in the Mahanadi river system. Puri, Cuttack, Nayagarh, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara districts have been the worst hit.

While the chief minister made aerial survey of the affected areas in the districts of Kendrapara, Khurda, Jagatsingpur and Puri, his ministers along with his secretary V.K. Pandian and ruling Biju Janata Dal MLAs have been asked to go to the villages and help the affected people.

On the other hand, the Opposition BJP and Congress leaders are also making all out efforts to reach out to the flood-hit people. On Thursday, BJP state president Samir Mohanty, visited the affected people in Kanasa block of Puri.

Though the intensity of rains has reduced and rivers have started receding the flood situation remains grim in the coastal belt. Many villages are still lying marooned. The water resources department has announced plans to close down another eight gates of the Hirakud reservoir to regulate the water flow in the lower catchment area of the Mahanadi river system.

Special Relief Commissioner P.K. Jena tweeted, “Of the 40 gates of the Hirakud dam opened, 4 have been closed and another 4 will be closed now. Thus 32 will remain open. As planned, the reservoir level will be brought to 622 feet by 9 am tomorrow.”

What has set the alarm bell ringing is that the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall for the next two days in certain parts of Odisha.

Amid the flood situation in the coastal belt, the Odisha government has issued a direction to the district agriculture officers to prepare a contingency plan for Kharif as most of the paddy fields have been damaged by the flood waters.

As the flood has destroyed thousands of acres of farmland, its impact was felt in the vegetable market on Thursday. The price of almost all the vegetables crossed the Rs 100 mark, making it tough for consumers.

What has made the matter worse is that many parts of the expanded Bhubaneswar smart city, have been badly hit by the flood waters of the Daya river, a tributary of the Mahanadi. The backwater of the river Daya has entered the basements of hundreds of apartments in Sundarpada areas, throwing a tough challenge to the Bhubaneswar Development Authority and Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, which have to address the concerns of the residents.