Bhubaneswar, Sep 02: The flood situation in Orissa's coastal deltaic plains remained grim as the state government sought an interim assistance of Rs 250 crore from the national calamity contingency fund today. Fourteen lives have been so far lost in the flood.
Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik, who discussed the flood situation with the Deputy Prime Minister, L K Advani, through a tele-conference, sought the funds to tackle the situation which had affected five thickly-populated districts.
Advani, who held discussion with Patnaik and chief ministers of West Bengal, Assam, Maharashtra and Gujarat during the launching of the Indian disaster resource network in New Delhi, expressed concern over the flood situation in the state, official sources said.

The water level in all the rivers of the Mahanadi system continued to be above the red mark as the discharge from the Hirakud Dam reservoir caused a spate in the rivers flooding the deltaic plains, the sources said.
The deluge has caused breaches on 25 river embankments besides damaging roads and canal embankments affecting an estimated 30 lakh population.

The floods so far claimed 14 lives, six of them in Balangir district, three each in Kendrapara and Cuttack districts and one each in Bargarh and Sonepur districts.
Bureau Report