Odisha braces for heavy rain, puts districts on high alert

: The Odisha government Thursday put the collectors of 18 districts on high alert after the IMD forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall in the state when a possible depression crosses its southern coast September 27, officials said.

The instructions to the districts were issued through a video conference by Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Deoranjan Kumar Singh. All the collectors of the southern and coastal region participated in the conference.

The state government’s move came in the wake of the IMD’s forecast that a low-pressure area is likely to form over the Bay of Bengal.

“It is likely to intensify into a depression by the evening of September 26 and will cross over South Odisha and North Andhra Pradesh by September 27 morning,” the IMD said.

The system is likely to cause extremel