Many districts in South Bengal are on the brink of heavy flooding as the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) released water from two dams, along with incessant and continuous rain.
State government officials say they are closely monitoring the situation, while Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has warned district magistrates to remain vigilant. Nabanna, who is the secretary of state, has also ordered officials to prepare to deal with this situation.
“Due to the release of water from Maithon, Durgapur, and Panchet lakes, a flood situation has prevailed in the Damodar basin. Ten senior IAS officers have been tasked to control the situation,” said Alapan Banerjee, senior adviser to the Chief Minister.
He continued, “In the village below, people will be rescued and taken to other places if necessary; we have started to prepare”.
The Damodar Valley Corporation has issued a red alert in the area as the release of water rose to 2.5 lakh cusecs on Tuesday.
Commenting on the situation, Banerjee pointed out that the DVC is releasing water without informing her government. The Chief Minister said that he called the Jharkhand Chief Minister three times, urging him to control the release of water.
The water levels of many rivers in the state have affected the danger limits in several places. Districts like West Medinipur, including Ghatal, are already inundated. Heavy rain also caused a dam to break on the Kure river in Lavpur, Birbhum, affecting 15 villages.
As the Dwarkeshwar river bursts its banks, many residents of Hooghly have left their homes in search of a safer place to live. A lot of crops were also washed away by the floods.
Bankura, West Burdwan, East Burdwan, Hooghly, and Howrah near Damodar are some of the worst hit areas.