Chhattisgarh Floods Cut Off Bastar as Gangrel Dam Opens Every Gate

All schools across Chhattisgarh are shut for the day and every gate of the Gangrel Dam is open, sending more than 2.5 lakh cusecs into the Mahanadi as the Bastar division is cut off by flooded roads, rivers and a blocked railway line. Two people have died in separate rain-related incidents, and 48 bus passengers were pulled to safety by rope near Sarai Bhadar.

Chhattisgarh Floods Cut Off Bastar as Gangrel Dam Opens Every Gate

Raipur, Chhattisgarh - 26 September 2026 - Three days of rain have submerged highways, breached riverbanks and forced the state to close every school and open every gate of its largest dam on the Mahanadi.

Every School in Chhattisgarh Closed for the Day

The Chhattisgarh government declared a holiday for all government, private and aided schools across the state on Saturday 26 September 2026, The Hindu reported. Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai announced the closure in a post on X on Friday 25 September 2026, saying the safety of students was the top priority. Sai said: "There should be no delay in providing assistance to people in need in affected areas. Keeping the safety of citizens as the highest priority, the administration should remain prepared to deal with every situation." In an appeal to the public carried by ETV Bharat, Sai said: "Citizens should prioritise their own safety and that of their families. Follow the guidelines issued by the administration. Do not go near rivers, streams, waterfalls, or overflowing water bodies. Under no circumstances should you attempt to cross submerged bridges, culverts, or roads. Strictly adhere to administrative instructions at locations where safety barriers have been installed." Sai also said: "We have kept the administration on high alert. Instructions have been issued to all District Collectors to take immediate action wherever the need arises due to heavy rainfall. It must be ensured that the general public does not face any inconvenience." Citizens were told to dial 112 in an emergency.

Bastar Cut Off: Roads, Rivers and Rail

The Indravati and Sabari rivers in Bastar were flowing above the danger mark, People's Update reported. The Sabari was flowing at 43.02 metres at Konta in Sukma district, 1.02 metres above the danger mark of 42 metres and above the warning level of 40.50 metres, the Times of India reported. The Sukma administration issued a high alert and advised residents to stay away from rivers, overflowing streams, culverts and inundated areas. Sections of National Highway 30 were submerged, disrupting traffic between Raipur and Jagdalpur, and traffic was also disrupted on NH-63, the Jagdalpur-Bijapur-Bhopalpatnam highway. Landslides at four locations on the Kirandul-Kottavalasa railway line in the Koraput section halted trains; operators said restoring the line could take three to four days and all trains on the affected route were cancelled. The Hyderabad-Jagdalpur-Raipur flight service was disrupted for two consecutive days. More than 300 villages have been surrounded by floodwater, and Sukma, Bijapur and Bastar districts are among the worst affected.

Two Deaths, and 48 Passengers Pulled Out by Rope

A farmer aged 40 drowned in Kondagaon district on Friday 25 September after falling into a flooded drain while trying to catch fish in a partially submerged paddy field, The Hindu reported. Separately, a woman died after a mud house collapsed in the Kurandi area of Bastar district, ETV Bharat reported. ETV Bharat's Saturday 26 September report carried both deaths; The Hindu, Hindustan Times, India Today and the Times of India, writing on Friday's events, each carried only the Kondagaon drowning. A bus travelling from Raipur to Gariaband was trapped in floodwater near Sarai Bhadar, with water about four feet deep on both sides. There were 48 passengers aboard and all were rescued successfully; they were helped across the water using a rope by Gariaband police personnel. SDRF teams pulled flood-trapped villagers out of more than a dozen villages, including Bhejapadar in the Nagarnar area and Ghat Dhanora in Tokapal. The rescued villagers were sent to relief camps.

Gangrel Dam Opens All 14 Gates for the First Time in About 28 Years

By Saturday 26 September, all 14 gates of the Gangrel Dam were open and more than 2.5 lakh cusecs of water had been released into the Mahanadi, ANI reported. People's Update reported that all 14 gates of the Gangrel dam had to be opened simultaneously — the first time in about 28 years — and that more than 2.5 lakh cusecs were being released. The Times of India headline on the same development read: "All 14 gates of Chhattisgarh's Gangrel Dam opened as heavy rain triggers surge in Mahanadi". Gangrel reservoir in Dhamtari district stood at 98.14 per cent of capacity as of 8 a.m. on Friday; Murumsilli was at 100 per cent, Dudhawa at 97.21 per cent and Sondhur at 88.18 per cent. Officials had earlier opened 10 gates of Gangrel and released 54,950 cusecs of water — 48,950 cusecs into the Mahanadi river and 6,000 cusecs into a canal through the Rudri barrage. Inflow at the Gangrel reservoir reached 64,117 cusecs.

The Mahanadi Carries the Water Into Odisha

On the Shivnath river in Rajnandgaon, 14,650 cusecs of water were released from four barrages: 8,000 cusecs from Mogra, 1,250 from Ghumariya, 3,200 from Sukha Nala and 2,200 from Khatutola, which officials said was likely to push the river up further, ETV Bharat reported. Water at the Mahmara Anicut on the Shivnath rose from about one foot at 8 a.m. on Friday to about two feet three inches by 11 a.m. In neighbouring Odisha, gates were opened on the Khatiguda dam on the Indravati and on the dam on its tributary the Muran, which officials said increased water pressure in the border areas of Chhattisgarh, People's Update reported. The water level of the Indravati in the Timed area of Bijapur district was reported to be normal. Raipur city recorded about 110 mm of rain, and roads were submerged in several areas. Waterlogged localities in Raipur named by ETV Bharat included Bhatagaon, Sundar Nagar, Mahadev Ghat, Professor Colony, Purana Vidhan Sabha Road, and Saddu.

Hirakud Opens Sixteen Gates and Odisha Moves Thousands

On Saturday the Odisha government began shifting people in low-lying areas to safety as all rivers in the state had swelled, and the Hirakud Dam opened 16 gates to release excess water into the Mahanadi, PTI reported via The Hindu. Eleven more gates of the Hirakud Dam had to be opened on Saturday; a total of 16 sluice gates were open. A senior official said: "We have to open more gates due to heavy rainfall in the upper catchment area of the Mahanadi river in Chhattisgarh." The official said the water level stood at 629.56 feet and that people living on the floodplains and low-lying areas had been asked to remain alert. Around 14,500 people living in low-lying and landslide-prone areas in Odisha's southern and western regions were shifted to 2,061 relief centres where cooked food was being served, and pregnant women were shifted to hospitals, according to a State minister. Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said on Friday that 8,082 people had been evacuated by noon, housed in 203 relief camps, with 73 houses reported damaged and 273 villages affected across six districts.

The Storm Behind It All: A Deep Depression From the Bay of Bengal

Parts of Odisha were lashed by heavy rain under the influence of a deep depression that made landfall in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh on Thursday 24 September, ABP Live reported. The India Meteorological Department defines a deep depression as a weather system more intense than a depression but weaker than a cyclonic storm. The deep depression that made landfall on the Andhra Pradesh coast entered Odisha, causing heavy to very heavy rain in the 24 hours to 8.30 a.m. on Friday 25 September, The Hindu reported. At 5.30 a.m. on Saturday 26 September the system — then a depression over northeast Madhya Pradesh and adjoining north Chhattisgarh — was centred about 230 km south of Prayagraj, moving north-northwest towards southeast Uttar Pradesh. It was expected to remain a depression while moving towards southeast Uttar Pradesh until Saturday evening and to weaken gradually into a well-marked low-pressure area during the following 12 hours. Squally weather prevailed along the Odisha coast with winds gusting to 70 kmph.

Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh Under the Same System

In Bihar, around 50.49 lakh people have been affected by floods across 15 districts, covering 576 gram panchayats in 88 blocks, Millennium Post reported. The Kosi is flowing above the danger mark at Baltara while the Bagmati is above the warning level at Sonakhan and Benibad. The Bihar Water Resources Department ordered round-the-clock vigilance along vulnerable stretches of the Gandak and Kosi, with night patrolling to report seepage, overtopping, erosion or breaches. In Jharkhand, trees and electricity poles were uprooted, affecting traffic and power supply. In Ranchi a tree fell on a school bus carrying children, though all students were rescued safely. All schools from kindergarten to Class 12 were ordered closed on Saturday, at least 24 flights were cancelled at Birsa Munda Airport, and several areas saw prolonged power outages. In Uttar Pradesh, the IMD warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall at several places with extremely heavy rain possible at isolated locations, and issued a red alert for several districts. Lucknow recorded 125.8 mm of rainfall in the 21 hours ending on the morning of Saturday 26 September.

What the Forecast Says Next

Between 1 June and 25 September 2026, Chhattisgarh recorded an average of 1,082.4 mm of rainfall, 100.1 per cent of its 10-year seasonal benchmark of 1,081.5 mm, The Hindu reported. In the 24 hours to 8 a.m. Friday the state averaged 52.8 mm. Balrampur recorded the highest rainfall relative to its seasonal average, at 169.4 per cent (1,527.7 mm), while Narayanpur recorded the highest cumulative rainfall at 1,600.4 mm. The India Meteorological Department said very heavy rainfall was possible at isolated places across 13 districts — Balod, Baloda Bazar, Bemetara, Dhamtari, Durg, Gariaband, Kabirdham, Kanker, Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai, Kondagaon, Mahasamund, Raipur and Rajnandgaon. The Meteorological Centre in Raipur forecast light to moderate rain at most places over the next 24 hours, with heavy showers and thunderstorms likely at isolated places. ETV Bharat reported the deep depression was likely to bring showers to all districts of the state through Sunday.

Inside Bastar: Alerts, Shelters and Closed Schools

Sai instructed district collectors to run relief and rescue operations with full vigilance, including in the Bastar division, which comprises seven districts, The Hindu reported. The Bastar collector directed officials and the Home Guards commandant to stay in the field and monitor the situation. An alert was issued for low-lying and riverside areas along the Indravati, which flows past Jagdalpur, and floodwater entered low-lying colonies and several houses in Jagdalpur. At Kanya Bhejji Ashram, rising water entered the campus and officials shifted girl students to safer accommodation, the Times of India reported. Police and administrative teams remained stationed in the area. The Sukma-Malkangiri road was blocked after water overflowed the Jhapra bridge, and traffic on the Sukma-Dornapal road was affected at the Dabba-Tota culvert. About 250 mm of rain was recorded in Bastar district, flooding low-lying areas; more than 100 houses have been reported damaged in Bastar. On Friday 25 September, district administrations had already declared a holiday for government and private schools in eight districts — Dantewada, Bijapur, Kondagaon, Kanker, Bastar, Gariaband, Dhamtari and Durg.

By Jessica Ali, Staff Writer

This article was produced with AI-assisted research and editorial support. Sources: The Hindu, Hindustan Times, India Today, The Times of India, ETV Bharat, ABP Live, Millennium Post, ANI, People's Update, PTI.