Several areas in south Bengal face a massive flood risk as the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) released 3 lakh cusecs of water from its Panchet and Maithon dams within seven hours on the night of September 16 amid incessant low-pressure rains.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited Pursurah in Hooghly district to take stock of the situation and said it is a “man-made” flood, caused by the Centre as DVC had never released so much water earlier.
“This is a man-made flood. They planned to drown Bengal. I personally spoke to the DVC authorities. I spoke to Hemant Soren, Chief Minister of Jharkhand at least thrice. The last time DVC released so much water was in 2009,” Banerjee told reporters.
“It was done to drown West Bengal. The Centre doesn’t undertake dredging. If dredging is done DVC can hold more water. Why do they not release water gradually when the dam is 70% – 80% full? In a bid to save Jharkhand, they release the water to Bengal. How much deprivation we shall take?” Banerjee complained.
“Even the water level in the Adi Ganga has shot up. I have never seen so much water in Adi Ganga. DVC released a huge amount of water. People have been requested to move to flood shelters. A few people got trapped at Khanakul in Hooghly district,” she told reporters earlier.
The Chief Minister’s residence at Kalighat in south Kolkata is located on the banks of the Adi Ganga, the original channel of River Ganga passing through Kolkata.
According to data shared by DVC, around 2.5 lakh cusec water was released for around six hours on Tuesday. The last time such a huge amount of water was released was in September 2009. DVC had then released 3,03,046 cusecs from its Panchet and Maithon dams.
“We released 2.5 lakh cusecs for around six hours on Tuesday. West Bengal was informed. The flow of release was reduced to 1.2 lakh cusecs later during the day,” said a DVC official.
Mamata also asked District Magistrates to remain alert and Nabanna, the State secretariat, has instructed officials to be prepared to deal with the situation.
Two people have already died because of this flood-like situation. While one person died due to wall collapse following rain in Purba Bardhaman district, another died of electrocution in Hooghly district. In Murshidabad district, floodwaters swept away a seven-year-old girl.