Missile test range flooded in Orissa

Bhubaneswar, Sep 27 (IANS) Floods triggered by heavy rains past week inundated a missile test range here in Orissa forcing the authorities to declare a holiday for its employees till the floodwater was pumped out from the premises.

The coastal district of Balasore is one of the worst affected in the latest round of flooding in Orissa which houses the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur-On-Sea, around 230 km from the state capital. ITR is the base from which India tests missiles, rockets and flight test vehicles.


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The base has 630 employees including 137 scientists and Tuesday was declared a holiday. Water entered most of the range, including the motor transport department, radar section, telemetry division, and the main administrative building, said the official.

“It is for the first time in 25 years that floodwater entered the base,” a senior ITR official told IANS.

“The floodwater from local Sunei and Kala dams entered the premises through its main gate late Monday and most of the base was flooded till Tuesday evening,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

“Some rooms had over two feet of water. Furniture and other materials were found floating in some rooms. Normalcy returned inside the establishment after the water was pumped out Wednesday,” he said.

The test range is spread over an area of 15 km along the seacoast from where India has tested more than 500 missiles since its inception in 1982, including nuclear capable Agni, Prithvi, and BrahMos missiles.

This is the fourth round of floods in the state this year. According to state flood relief officials, the latest floods have hit more then 2.5 million people across the state killing more than two dozen in the last one week.

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