Kolkata/Midnapore: Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday took stock of the flood situation in south Bengal districts and said there was no need to panic as the administration was evacuating vulnerable people and arranging relief supplies across inundated areas. The CM expressed hope that without further rainfall, water levels would recede soon.
Several areas of the Lower Damodar Valley have been inundated following heavy to extremely heavy rainfall, with water flowing above the danger mark in Khanakul, Jangipara and Goghat, Adhikari said.
Chairing an emergency meeting with officials of the irrigation and waterways department at Jalasampad Bhavan, the CM detailed the measures that were being taken with waters flowing above the danger level in several low-lying belts of Hooghly and Howrah. “Even if some water remains accumulated in the areas, the situation will improve,” he said.
Adhikari also praised Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) for its handling of the situation and said it had reduced the amount of water being released, raising hopes that water levels would recede soon.
“DVC has managed operations well under adverse conditions. No dams were breached despite heavy rainfall and water pressure,” the CM said, adding that Bengal chief secretary Manoj Agarwal had been instructed to hold coordination meetings with Bihar and Jharkhand.
Adhikari said seven blocks in rural Hooghly, including Arambag and parts of Howrah’s Udaynarayanpur, have been affected by excessive rain. Water release from DVC’s reservoirs at Maithon and Panchet, alongside discharges exceeding 100,000 cusec from Durgapur Barrage, have flooded lower catchment zones along the Damodar, Silabati and Jhumi rivers, he added.
West Midnapore, Hooghly, Howrah, East Burdwan and West Burdwan have been put on high alert as rivers overflowed embankments. Adhikari also visited the control room to monitor rescue and relief operations and reviewed state assistance with district administrations.
Personnel of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and civil defence were operating in the affected villages to supply food and drinking water, the CM said. “Contingency funds have been released. Anti-venom stocks are ready, and rescue boats and speedboats have been deployed to deliver water and rations,” he added.
Adhikari said Bengal will receive Rs 500 crore this year to address riverbank erosion along the Ganga and Bhagirathi in Malda and Murshidabad, though additional funding would be required.
Meanwhile, in West Midnapore’s Ghatal, the flood situation remained grim. Rainfall from a low-pressure system and reservoir releases pushed Silabati river above its banks, flooding Ghatal town, surrounding villages and the state highway.
With roads and farmland submerged, residents were forced to use boats and dinghies. Water entered wards 1 to 10 of Ghatal municipality, flooded Argora in ward 2, submerged shops and inundated Ajabnagar 1 and 2 panchayats. In Ghatal municipal area, 20 out of 34 primary schools and one junior high school were closed after floodwaters entered classrooms, submerging furniture. Snakes were reported from inside some school premises.