'Unplanned discharge of water from dams': Mamata Banerjee blames DVC for 'man-made' floods in Bengal

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee held Damodar Valley Corporation's (DVC) unplanned and excess release of water responsible for the current "man-made" flood in South Bengal.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday held Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) responsible for the current "man- made" flood in South Bengal which she claimed was a result of unplanned and increased discharge of water from upstream dams and barrages. The chief minister said the lack of dredging of dams and barrages controlled by the central government-run DVC has led to increased silting in reducing the holding capacity of dams such as Maithon, near Dhanbad. This, she claimed, led to excessive discharge of water into Bengal whenever there was heavy rains in upstream states such as Jharkhand, causing floods in vulnerable low lying districts of southern Bengal, and urged authorities controlling the dams to dredge their reservoirs.

Chief Secretary H K Dwivedi separately told a press meet on Friday that 22 lakh people were affected in five districts by floods as the mighty Damodar and Rupnarayan rivers were flowing above extreme danger level. He cited that one of the main reasons behind this flood is the amount of water being discharged (upstream) goes beyond the water bearing capacity of these rivers.ALSO READ: How the weather could foil Mamata Banerjee’s bypoll win