Flood alert in parts of Bengal as DVC releases over 73k cusecs water
Times of India | 5 October 2025
Midnapore/Burdwan: The Bengal govt on Saturday put the districts of Hooghly, East Burdwan and Ghatal subdivision in West Midnapore on high alert for floods after the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) released 73,556 cusecs water from its Maithon and Panchet reservoirs, said state irrigation minister Manas Bhunia.
The minister said the DVC was ignoring CM Mamata Banerjee's strongly-worded protest against the release of water and putting people in peril during the festive season. Bhunia added the DVC released 65,000 cusecs of water on Oct 2, 70,000 cusecs on Oct 3 and again more than 73,000 cusecs on Saturday.
Speaking to TOI, the minister said, "We are not asking DVC to stop releasing water. We want the release to happen in a monitored and controlled manner in consultation with us. Our river systems in south Bengal are already swollen due to the Sept rainfall. Is it their intent to drown us to death?"
He added that most of Bengal's bigger rivers were inching close to the danger-mark.
Meanwhile, Suman Prasad Singh, executive director and head of the Maithon project, said the volume of water release from the two reservoirs has not been raised.
"The cumulative volume of water being released from Maithon and Panchet reservoirs is being maintained at 75,000 cusecs. The release is stable because rainfall has not increased further," Singh told TOI.
Amid all of this, Ghatal subdivision is once again gripped with fears of yet another flood, the sixth of the season.
Water released by DVC is mixing with the Rupnarayan, Old Kansai and Shilabati rivers. "The water-level of the Shilabati river is rising by the hour," said Ghatal SDO Suman Biswas.
A control room has been set up and the subdivisional office is issuing warnings, Biswas said. The administration has started stockpiling dry food and preparing medical teams.
Hooghly DM Mukta Arya said disaster management teams have been alerted.
Parts of several gram panchayats, including Jagatpur, Rajhati, Chandkundu, Dhannaghori and Chadur, are inundated.
Irrigation minister Bhunia said this was not the first time water was being released unilaterally. "The CM had spoken to the PM about this. We have been engaging with the Centre and DVC on this but they remain unmoved. They say something publicly and do the exact opposite," he added.