West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday visited flood-affected areas of south Bengal and took a review of the situation. She said that the flood-like situation in some parts of the state was "man-made" due to the unbridled release of water by (Damodar Valley Corporation) DVC from its dams in Maithon and Panchet. CM Mamata visited the affected areas in Hooghly district. She told the media that DVC had released 3.5 lakh cusecs of water which caused the floods.
Mamata said, "This year, the amount of water released was more than in past years. Since 2009, this much water has never been released. Dazzling at Farakka and DVC has not happened for over 20 years which has caused an accumulation of debris. This is why DVC's capacity to hold water has lessened."
Dams were not dredged: Mamata
Accusing Congress' Jharkhand government, she added, "Whenever Jharkhand receives rain, the extra water is released in Bengal. This year we requested them not to release the water at once because even West Bengal is witnessing heavy rainfall. They released 3.5 lakh cusec water. This is a man-made flood."
She also said the dams were not dredged. "Had these dams been dredged, another additional two lakh cusecs of water could have been stored," she said. She blamed the Jharkhand government and said that the act of releasing water was "pre-meditated and was done to put West Bengal into trouble."
Floods affect 7 districts
Notably, the flood-like situation was apprehended in at least seven districts of West Bengal after the release of water from dams in neighbouring Jharkhand. Earlier, Mamata had said "I have called the Jharkhand CM three times and urged him to regulate the release of water." Several parts of the state in Hooghly and Paschim Medinipur districts have been inundated and the chief minister is visiting these areas.
(With PTI Inputs)
