Due to a deep depression, heavy rain has been lashing the coastal and southern parts of Odisha on Tuesday, and holidays have been declared for schools in various districts.
As the weather department has predicted that the bad weather will continue, the district administrations of Khurda, Jagatsinghpur, Ganjam, and Gajapati announced a one-day holiday for schools in those areas. In Malkangiri district, schools have been given a holiday until September 24.
It has been announced that Anganwadi centers will also remain closed until Sept. 24. However, teachers and other staff have been instructed to come to school. School principals have been ordered to carry out work on a rotational basis so that the school premises remain available at all times for emergency needs.
It has been announced that the National Rural Talent Search Examination, which was scheduled to be held on Sept. 22, will be conducted as planned at the designated examination centers.
Officials in Ganjam, Koraput, and Kalahandi districts have said that teachers must not leave their places of posting until September 25. The officials stated that leave for government employees has been canceled.
The government has restricted vehicular traffic on some roads, including the Kalinga Ghat, which connects the Ganjam and Kandhamal districts.
Due to bad weather, boat services between Satapada and Janhikuda on Chilika Lake have been suspended until September 25.
The India Meteorological Department has said that the low-pressure area prevailing over the Bay of Bengal is located about 220 km from Gopalpur in Odisha and 320 km from Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.
It is likely to move west-northwestward and intensify into a deep depression over the west-central and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal region within the next 12 hours.
Moving continuously in a west-northwest direction, it may cross the North Andhra–South Odisha coastal area between Visakhapatnam and Gopalpur as a deep depression during the night of September 23 to the early hours of September 24.
The India Meteorological Department has warned that heavy to very heavy rainfall may occur in the southern and coastal areas of Odisha, potentially causing severe waterlogging, urban flooding, and landslides. Following this, 11 district collectors in the state have been placed on high alert, Odisha Chief Secretary Anu Garg said.
