NEW DELHI: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday described the flood situation in the northern districts as “alarming” and claimed that the state has been deprived of central assistance to deal with the natural calamity. She said her government was dealing with the deluge on a war footing.
“North Bengal is reeling under flood. Districts such as Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar have been affected. Due to heavy rain in catchment areas of Kosi river, places in Bihar, and Malda and Dakshin Dinajpur districts of West Bengal will be affected in the near future,” she said on her way to Siliguri.
Accusing the central government of not helping the state in fighting the calamities, she said, “It did not take up maintenance work of Farakka barrage and its water-bearing capacity has reduced to a great extent despite our repeated reminders.”
Following the meeting when asked whether she would reach out to the Centre again, Banerjee said, “If I write to the PM, one of his ministers will reply. This is not correct. (Maybe) I will then correct that again and send another letter.” Banerjee had written twice to PM Narendra Modi after the flood broke out in the state. The CM said alert had been issued for six districts.
‘Only in polls’
Mamata Banerjee said that BJP leaders visit West Bengal “only during polls but forget about the state when it matters most”. “Only Bengal is being deprived of flood grants”, she claimed.