WITH NO rainfall in the past 24 hours, the flood situation in South Bengal districts improved slightly on Saturday, officials said. According to sources in the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC), the release of water was also decreased from Maithon and Panchet barrage.

On Wednesday, terming the prevailing flood situation as “man-made”, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday claimed that it was the DVC that released more than four lakh cusec water due to which areas of Paschim Medinipur, Bardhaman, Hooghly and Howrah districts were flooded.

After visiting flooded areas of Paschim Medinipur, she said, she is considering “cutting off all communication with the DVC” and that even on Thursday morning, “they released more water” and more areas in her state “submerged”. Banerjee was reiterating her claims of Jharkhand “flooding” West Bengal to “save their state”.

“The DVC is a central government agency. Four lakh cusecs of water were supposed to be released. That never happened. We have cut out five lakh ponds and saved many areas through the Kapaleshwar Keleghat project. The Ghatal master plan has been pending for 10 years, the Centre did not give a single penny for it,” she said.”We were repeatedly told by the Damodar Valley Corporation (in Jharkhand) not to release water… We will make a big movement against this,” Banerjee said.

On Wednesday, she had alleged that the floods in the areas of Arambagh, Goghat, and Khanakul in West Bengal’s Hooghly district were
“man-made”.

However, the Centre claimed that the DVC informed the West Bengal government prior release of water from Maithon and Panchet dam.

On Saturday, the DVC informed that releasing of water from Maithon and Panchet dam decreased. From Friday night Maithon dam is releasing 10,000 and panchet dam is releasing 40 cusecs of water.

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