RANCHI: The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) launched a scathing attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, accusing her of losing her "mental balance" for allegedly sealing the inter-state border.
“Mamata Banerjee’s decision to seal the borders will cost her heavily. If Jharkhand also seals its borders, West Bengal will be cut off from the west, north, and southern parts of India. I urge Didi to be more sensitive. Goods vehicles are not responsible for bringing floods to your state,” JMM General Secretary and Central Spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya stated during a press conference.
The Bengal government reportedly restricted the entry of trucks from Jharkhand in protest against the continuous release of water from the Maithon and Panchet dams, operated by the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC). This has resulted in flooding in parts of Paschim Bardhaman and Medinipur districts. As a result , thousands of trucks were stranded along NH-2 and NH-4 near the Jharkhand-West Bengal border.
Accusing the DVC of causing "man-made" floods in Bengal, Mamata Banerjee has threatened to sever all ties with the corporation. She also criticized the central government for failing to conduct dredging at the DVC dams, which has led to the release of excess water and subsequent flooding in several districts of West Bengal.
“This is not rainwater; this is water released by the government organization DVC from its dams. This is a man-made flood, and it's unfortunate. Why isn’t the Centre dredging the DVC dams, where the water storage capacity has decreased by 36 percent? There is a larger conspiracy at play. This cannot continue, and we will start a major movement against this,” Mamata Banerjee was quoted as saying on Sunday.