Our Correspondent
Thousands of villagers in Odisha’s Rayagada and Kalahandi districts have been cut off by flood waters following flash floods triggered by incessant rains since Saturday.
Hundreds of villages were marooned by flood waters in the Kalyansingpur block of Rayagada and Thuamul Rampur block of Kalahandi. About 80 per cent of the Kalyansingpur block has been submerged by the water and all schools of the block and nearby areas have been closed.
The state government has sought the help of army and air force as the flood situation in Rayagada and Kalahandi worsened.
India Air Force helicopters are likely to reach at Rayagada this morning to intensify the rescue and relief operations. As many as 11 trains were cancelled while five other trains were diverted to other routes passing through Rayagada and Titilagarh.
Meanwhile, the state government has geared up its official machinery to tackle the situation and face the possible floods in south Odisha as weathermen have predicted heavy rain in the region.
Bhubaneswar Met office said heavy rain are likely to occur in all the southern districts till July 20 under influence of the depression formed over the Bay of Bengal.