KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday undertook an aerial survey of flood affected areas in south Bengal and said she would write to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue of DVC’s decision of releasing water without informing the state government. She also said the chief secretary of the state government would also write to the Centre in this regard.
"Nearly 10 lakh cusec water was released from DVC’s dams in West Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar resulting flood situation in eight south Bengal districts. I will write to the Prime Minister and demand compensation," said Mamata at Nabanna, the state secretariat.
"Eight districts have been affected and four lakh people have been evacuated. One lakh houses have completely been damaged. The DVC released water four times without informing us. This is a crime. We protest. We request the Jharkhand government to look into the issue. I will discuss the issue with the neighbouring states like Jharkhand and Bihar,’’ said Mamata.
Reiterating the 'man-made flood' theory, the Bengal CM said she would request the Jharkhand government to prepare a plan in consultation with her state government. "I will also request the Centre to prepare a master plan to prevent recurrence of floods. Had the reservoirs in Jharkhand been dredged, Bengal would not have faced such situation,' she said.