West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday visited the flood-affected areas in Howrah and accused the Centre of failing to carry out dredging at the DVC dams, which released water resulting in floods in several districts of the state. Mamata said that the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) accountable for the "man-made" floods and suggested there was a conspiracy behind the situation in the state. DVC dams are located at Maithon and Panchet, both along the Jharkhand-Bengal border.
"This is not for rain. Yes, it rained for 4-5 days but we can tolerate that. We have a lot of infrastructure and systems. But I cannot tolerate, people cannot tolerate more than 5 lakh cusecs of water that has been released from DVC and other areas. The capacity of DVC dam came down to 36% only from 100%, as per my knowledge. This is definitely because of negligence of Central Government - no dredging, no desiltation for years. We are fighting the battle every year. Why will the people of Bengal fight the battle? They said, let Jharkhand be safe. I said, Yes, Jharkhand should be saved but Bengal must also be safe. I cannot protect you, instead of my people," she said.
While supervising the flood conditions at Pashkura in Paschim Medinipur district, she warned that she would sever all ties with the corporation.
"This is not rainwater, it is water released by the central government organisation DVC from its dams. This is a man-made flood, and it's unfortunate. Why isn’t the central government dredging the DVC dams, where the water storage capacity has decreased by 36 per cent. There is a larger conspiracy at play. This cannot continue and we will start a major movement against this," she added.
Banerjee claimed the DVC has released 5. 5 lakh cusecs of water this year, contributing to the current crisis. "I will instruct the administration to ensure that everyone receives adequate relief materials," she added.
From Pashkura, Banerjee is scheduled to visit flooded areas in Hooghly and Howrah, according to government sources. Since Wednesday, she has been touring various parts of the state affected by the floods.
