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Mamata Banerjee blames Bhutan for North Bengal floods, seeks compensation
Mamata Banerjee maintained that the state government has to arrange all relief and rehabilitation and claimed that the Centre does not pay for it.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday claimed that the recent floods in North Bengal were caused by “water released from Bhutan”.
Banerjee also sought compensation from the Himalayan kingdom for the damage and loss of life due to the floods.
"We have faced losses due to water coming down from Bhutan... We want them to give us compensation," PTI quoted Banerjee as saying in a short address during a government programme.
Banerjee visited multiple relief camps in the Bamandanga area of Nagrakata in Jalpaiguri district, one of the worst-affected areas due to heavy rain on October 4. The rain flooded the region and caused widespread damage to life and property in the upper reaches of Darjeeling and its foothills.
At least 32 people have been killed and thousands left homeless in landslides and floods in the northern districts of West Bengal.
"I have been insisting on setting up an Indo-Bhutan Joint River Commission for some time now, and I demand that West Bengal be made part of it. Under our pressure, there's a meeting scheduled on the 16th of this month, and our officers will attend that," Banerjee added, alleging that the Centre has deprived the state of monetary assistance for handling calamities.
War of words between TMC and BJP
A war of words has been going on between the BJP and Trinamool Congress (TMC) since BJP MP Khagen Murmu and MLA Sankar Ghosh were injured in an attack by a mob during their visit to the flood and landslide-hit Dooars region in north Bengal.
After the alleged attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had posted on X, condemning the incident and calling it absolutely pathetic and reflective of the TMC government's collapse of law and order.
Mamata Banerjee launched a blistering attack on PM Modi, accusing him of "politicising a natural disaster" and "breaching the constitutional ethos" after he criticised the TMC government over the assault on two BJP leaders in the northern part of the state.
