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Mamata slams Union govt-run corp for dam water release despite heavy rain alert
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said the “reckless act” was nothing short of an attempt to inflict misery during sacred festivities
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday slammed the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC), operating power stations under the Union power ministry, for releasing 65,000 cusecs of water without prior notice amid an India Meteorological Department (IMD) heavy rain alert for parts of West Bengal. She said the “reckless act” was nothing short of an attempt to inflict misery during sacred festivities.
Banerjee said the people of West Bengal were not allowed to conclude their festival in peace. “Bijoya Dashami marks the close of Durga Puja — a time for joy, cheer, and renewed hope,” she said on X. She said, by releasing water without prior notification, the DVC has placed millions of lives in Bengal in immediate peril. “This is not a natural calamity. It is a disaster manufactured by the DVC.” She called such unilateral action shameful and absolutely unacceptable.
Banerjee said she will not allow anyone to carry out a “Bisarjan” (immersion) of Bengal. “Every conspiracy against our people will be resisted with full force. Truth will prevail over deceit and good will triumph over evil,” Banerjee wrote on X.
There was no immediate response from DVC.
The IMD has issued an alert for heavy to very heavy rain in some districts of south Bengal, including Birbhum, West Midnapore, Purulia, Bankura, East Burdwan, West Burdwan, and Murshidabad. “The depression over interior Odisha is very likely to move initially in a north-northwest direction and then in a north direction across Chhattisgarh and gradually weaken into a well-marked low pressure during the next 24 hours,” said an IMD bulletin on Friday.
The IMD issued a red alert of extremely heavy rain in one or two places in Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar districts in north Bengal on Saturday. Heavy to very heavy rain was expected in other districts in north Bengal, including Darjeeling and Kalimpong.
A state government official said chief secretary Manoj Pant sought a report from the irrigation department and vulnerable districts as soon as DVC started releasing water. The DVC started releasing 70,000 cubic feet of water per second (cusec) from its Maithon and Panchet dams.
Banerjee earlier lashed out at the DVC for releasing water, which allegedly triggered a flood-like situation in Howrah and Hooghly districts.
