Flood-hit missed their boats

JAJPUR:  The floods in Brahmani and Kharasrota rivers inundated 603 villages of 10 blocks in the district even as 10 lives were lost. Faced with unprecedented disaster in years, the marooned locals missed the country-boats which were once an integral part of their existence.Flash floods were an annual affair in the low-lying areas of Bari, Dasarathapur, Binjharpur, Barachana and Dharmasala till Rengali Dam came up on Brahmani. The villagers then used country-boats to sail through the surging water and rescue people stranded in flood. They were also used for transporting relief material. With the danger of floods ebbing in the late 80s, the boats became redundant. “We thought, floods will now be a thing of the past with the Rengali system in place. While some dismantled their boats, others sold them off,” said Raj Kishore Behera of Duttapur Village under Dasarathapur block.With communication links snapped after flood water submerged villages and roads, the locals wished for the boats which once served them during such calamities. They now have decided to arrange for boats to meet future eventualities. The 98 villages were submerged in flood water for almost 10 days with relief being air dropped in the affected areas. It was only after the water in the rivers receded that the relief team could establish contact with the flood-hit.