Bhawanipatna: The low pressure-triggered heavy rain since Monday night has thrown life out of gear in Kalahandi district. All the major rivers in the district such as the Tel, Hati, Ret and the Sandul have swollen triggering panic among villagers.

Flood water has entered several villages in the district, while road communication among Bhawanipatna, Balangir and Rayagada has been affected on the NH-26 as a diversion road of an under-construction bridge near Kantesir village had been washed away in the rain. Water has also entered the low-lying areas in the urban areas such as Bhawanipatna, Kesinga, Junagarh and Dharamgarh in the district.

The Met department has recorded 139mm of rainfall since last night, the highest in Odisha.

Sources said railway traffic was affected between Titilagarh and Vishakhapatnam as tracks had been washed away between Narla Road and Rupra Road in Kalahandi.

Fire tender rescued 17 officials, including 13 from the electricity department and four from the rural sanitation and water supply department, who had gone to inaugurate a water supply project in Banjipadar near Titilagarh, but found stranded in the flood water of Tel near Belgaon.