Mamata Banerjee:DVC should regulate release of water to avert floods

Howrah: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said her government will take up with Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) issues like release of water and dredging in its reservoirs ahead of the monsoon to avert floods in South Bengal.

Expressing concern over floods in adjoining districts along the Mamata Banerjee downstream every year, Banerjee said the DVC should regulate the discharge of water with prior intimation to the government to avoid sudden inundation of low-lying areas.

“We are writing a letter in this regard to the DVC authority urging it to regulate discharge of water and undertake proper dredging works in their reservoirs to ensure enhanced storage capacity, which could help prevent flood in the downstream adjacent areas,” Ms Banerjee said while interacting with the officials at an administrative meeting here.

“We don’t like to see floods every year at Amta and Udainarayanpur in Howrah, Arambagh-Goghat-Khanakul in Hooghly and Ghatal in West Midnapore with the released water from the DVC and there should be a mechanism to avoid such a flood that disturbs people every year during monsoon,” the chief minister said.

Apart from this, Ms Banerjee asked officials to take all necessary measures in advance to avoid flood or flood-like situation anywhere in the state.

Ms Banerjee also enquired about the progress of the Lower Damodar Basin project, having a budget of `2,800 crore, which would mitigate the perennial problem when implemented, benefitting Howrah, Hooghly, Burdwan and Bankura districts.