CM Mamata Writes to PM Modi Again About Flood Situation in Bengal
Chief minister mamata banerjee has reached out to prime minister Narendra Modi once more regarding the flood crisis in West bengal, asserting that the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) released water from its reservoirs without consulting her government, leading to widespread inundation in several districts.
In response to Banerjee's previous letter, Union Jal shakti minister C.R. Paatil claimed that state officials were informed at every stage about the water releases from DVC reservoirs, which were necessary to avert a major disaster. Banerjee, however, expressed her disagreement with this assertion, stating, “While the honorable minister claims that the release from DVC dams was done in consensus, I respectfully disagree.”
She emphadata-sized that critical decisions are made unilaterally by representatives from the Central Water Commission and the Ministry of Jal shakti, without adequate consultation with the West bengal government. Banerjee also highlighted instances where water was released with little or no prior notice, rendering her government's disaster management efforts ineffective. “The peak release from the reservoirs lasted for nine hours, yet we received only 3.5 hours' notice, which was insufficient,” she noted in her letter dated september 21, which was made public on Sunday.
In her earlier communication on september 20, Banerjee stated that around 5 million people in the state were affected by the floods and urged for the immediate sanction and release of central funds to address the devastation. Paatil, addressing her concerns, explained that the water releases were overseen by the Damodar Valley Reservoir Regulation Committee (DVRRC), which includes members from the Central Water Commission, West bengal, Jharkhand, and the DVC. He also mentioned that the release of water from the Maithon and Panchet reservoirs was reduced by 50 percent at the request of West bengal officials due to heavy rainfall from september 14 to 17.