Odisha's Malkangiri district remains flooded despite less rain

KORAPUT: Despite a reduction in rainfall on Tuesday, the flash flood situation in Malkangiri district remains severe, with a large portion of National Highway-326 still submerged. This has severely disrupted communication between Malkangiri and its bordering states of Telangana and Chhattisgarh, further isolating the district.Poteru village, one of the worst-hit areas, continues to struggle with extended power outages and a lack of access to drinking water. Residents have been deprived of basic utilities since the floods began."At least 6ft of floodwater entered our homes, damaging all our household items due to the torrential rain since Sunday midnight," Dipankar Mandal, a resident of Poteru, said.The village, located 24km from Malkangiri town and home to over 300 families, faces dire conditions.Villagers has expressed concerns over the possi bility of a water-borne disease outbreak due to the age for compensation. All measures will be taken to help affected residents," said Sethi during his visit to Malkangiri on Tuesday Malkangiri collector Ash- lack of safe drinking water and sanitation. "We are un- able to charge our phones to make emergency calls. There's no safe drinking wa ter available. We urge the ad ministration to restore basic facilities quickly," Alok Saha, another villager, added. ish Ishwar Patil said 54 preg- nant women were moved to safer locations, while 443 fam- ilies have received emergency shelter materials. "At least 1,787 people were evacuated Principal secretary Bish nu Pada Sethi assured that restoring power and safe drinking water are the ad ministration's top priorities. "We are committed to saving the cattle and assessing dam- and kept in 14 relief camps," Patil said. He assured that power would be restored to all houses within 24 hours.