Mamata Banerjee appeals to PM Modi for urgent action on severe flooding crisis in South Bengal

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], September 20 (ANI): Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, drawing attention to severe flooding in South Bengal. The floods have affected districts including Purba Bardhaman, Paschim Bardhaman, Birbhum, Bankura, Howrah, Hooghly, Purba Medinipur, and Paschim Medinipur.

In her letter, Banerjee said, “As a result of an unprecedented, unplanned and unilateral release of an enormously huge volume of water at nearly 5 lakh cusec from the combined system of Maithon & Panchet dams owned and maintained by the DVC (Damodar Valley Corporation), all districts of South Bengal… have been plunged into devastating floods causing severe miseries to the common people.”

This massive discharge of water has created what she described as “the biggest flood in Lower Damodar & adjoining areas after 2009,” affecting over 1,000 square kilometres and nearly 5 million people.

The Chief Minister highlighted that the floods have led to significant loss of crops, damage to public infrastructure, and destruction of homes and livestock. She also added that the state government is working hard to provide relief, with operations underway to evacuate people to safer shelters.

Banerjee had visited the flood-affected areas and reported witnessing “utter misery of lakhs of our people and unprecedented destruction of property and infrastructure.” She attributed the floods to “unplanned and uncoordinated release of water by the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) system,” and called it a “man-made flood” caused by neglect.

The letter expressed concern that the DVC failed to heed requests from the state government regarding the rising water levels. According to Banerjee, despite warnings about the critical condition of downstream rivers, the DVC increased water release from 90,000 cusec to 2,50,000 cusec within hours, which worsened the flooding situation.

Banerjee called for better management of the dams, stating that the miseries faced by the people could have been reduced with “well-planned and calibrated dam management practices.”

She said in her letter that the combined live and flood storage capacity of the Maithon and Panchet reservoirs has been reduced by 30 percent due to siltation, and urged the government to take urgent action. Additionally, she criticised the DVC for shifting its focus from flood control to power generation, which she claimed has harmed the interests of West Bengal. Banerjee also raised concerns about the lack of action on the Ghatal Master Plan, which has left the region vulnerable to flooding.

Also, in her letter, she warned that if the unilateral approach continues, the state may have to disengage from the DVC altogether. “We cannot allow this ongoing injustice to affect our people year after year,” she added.

Banerjee then requested the Prime Minister to consider her concerns seriously and urged the release of funds for flood management efforts to help the affected population.