West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has sent a second letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, raising alarm over the flooding in South Bengal, which she attributes to “abnormally heavy releases of water” from the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) reservoirs in Jharkhand.
In her letter dated September 21, Banerjee criticized the central government’s management of the situation, asserting that the water releases were conducted unilaterally without adequate consultation with her administration. She claimed that decisions regarding water management were made by the Central Water Commission and the Ministry of Jal Shakti without reaching a consensus with West Bengal authorities.
Banerjee pointed out that a peak water release lasting nine hours was initiated with only 3.5 hours’ notice, which she deemed insufficient for effective disaster management. “The peak water releases… were conducted with only 3.5 hours of notice, which proved inadequate for effective disaster management,” she wrote.
Posting the letter on social media platform X, Banerjee remarked, “This is my second letter to the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India regarding the devastating MAN-MADE flood in South Bengal caused by unprecedented release of water by DVC.”
In her previous correspondence, dated September 20, Banerjee noted that the floods had impacted five million people and urged the central government to release emergency funds for recovery efforts. She highlighted the significant loss of crops, damage to public infrastructure, and destruction of homes and livestock, stating that the state government is actively working to provide relief and evacuate residents to safer shelters.
Banerjee reiterated her call for the Prime Minister’s urgent intervention and the release of funds for flood management to support the affected population.
