According to sources, Sheikh Jahangir of Patrapada left home after a quarrel with his parents late last night. He parked the two-wheeler on the bridge but got stuck on the base of a pillar while intending to jump into the river. Locals spotted him this morning and informed the fire department and police, who rescued him after an hour-long operation.

“He had come here to commit suicide last night. But by God’s grace, he did not die even after jumping from the bridge. Our team reached the spot this morning and rescued him,” a fire fighter from Damapada Fire Department, Purna Chandra Swain, said told the media.

Around 70 boatmen from different districts participated in the boat race at Tentuli ghat of Mahanadi. The boat race has been organised on the occasion of Kartik Purnima every year for the last 60 years.

During the competition, two boatmen on each country boat rowed in the river from Tentuli ghat to next ghat for a stretch of nearly 2 km. The winners of the race were felicitated at the end of the competition which was organised by Bhagavat Pathagar.

Sonepur SP Sumati Tripathy and OPDC chairman Abhimanyu Kushal were among others who were present during the boat race.

Besides promoting the skills of the boatmen, the boat race has been held in memory of the ancient trade practices on water routes in the district.

With this a total of 24 sluice gates have now been opened by the Hirakud dam authorities as the water level in the reservoir went up significantly following heavy rain in the upper catchment areas of Mahanadi river.

While 16 sluice gates have been opened on the left side, water is being released through eight gates on the right side of the dam, sources said

Earlier, a total of 16 sluice gates of the dam were opened in two phases on Friday. While ten gates were opened in the morning, the dam authorities opened six more sluice gates later in the day to manage the water level in the reservoir.

Six sluice gates had initially been opened on Thursday, a day after the authorities closed all gates of the reservoir.

However, gates were opened again as the water level of the reservoir went up due to heavy rains in the upper catchment areas of Mahanadi river overnight

According to sources, the woman jumped into the river from the Chounrpur bridge all of a sudden after reaching the site. She was swept away in the river due to strong flow of water.

After getting information, fire services personnel and police arrived at the spot and a search operation was launched to trace the woman, stated to be aged around 18 years.

Eyewitnesses said there were not many people near the site when the incident took place. Only two to three people were present and no one was in a position to prevent the woman from taking such step as it happened all of a sudden.

Fire services and police were immediately informed about the incident following which their teams reached the spot. Search operation is in progress and further details are awaited.

The survivor has been identified as Surendra Mohan Mishra (69), a resident of SRIT Colony in Sambalpur and a retired government employee.

While morning walkers, who saw him near the bridge, suspected that he jumped into the Mahanadi in a bid to end his life and alerted police and Fire Services personnel, Mishra told the media that slipped and fell into the river while taking selfie on the bridge. “I grabbed a bunch of grass and managed to stay afloat. I am lucky to have come out of the river alive,” he said, adding that he also dropped his mobile phone.

His scooter and slippers were found on bridge, raising suspicion.