Flood Alert For Parts Of Bengal After Water Released From 2 Jharkhand Dams

A flood-like situation prevails in several parts of West Bengal with heavy rain over the last few days.

Several places in Arambagh in Hooghly district are witnessing a deluge with houses and roads submerged in water. Flood warnings have been issued for Coochbehar and Alipurduar district in north Bengal as well.

In south Bengal, the state government has warned against the release of 1 lakh cusecs of water into the Damodar river, which it says, will be catastrophic for the state, adding that no discussions have been held with the state government on the release of water.

The flood alert for the southern parts of West Bengal because of water release from two dams upstream in Jharkhand. Kolkata's Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport was flooded yesterday following heavy rain. While parts of the tarmac were flooded, flight operations were not affected. On Friday, the Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport in Andal in West Bardhhaman district had to shut operations due to flooding.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) yesterday recovered bodies of three people who had drowned on Friday evening due to floods in Asansol. While there has been some relief from rain, the prospect of water being released upstream could make the situation worse, especially along the Damodar and Ajay rivers.

Rainfall of 150-200mm in several districts of south Bengal over the last few days, has led to a flood-like situation in many areas of Hooghly, Howrah, Bankura, Birbhum, East Burdwan and West Burdwan districts. Visuals from Arambagh in Hooghly district showed inundated streets and villages with locals struggling to move around.

Chief Advisor to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Alapan Bandopadhyay said, "In the next 4-5 days, in different parts like Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, there is possibility of the water level going up. Mamata Banerjee is overseeing the situation on a 24x7 basis. She is holding talks senior officials and have asked them to keep vigil on the evolving situation."

Apart from the senior administrative officials, the Chief Minister is in touch with DMs and SPs in districts and has been issuing directions to them. The Chief Secretary has held meetings with District Magistrates and concerned departments. Officers have been sent to different districts to oversee the developing situation.

"Member Secretary of Damodar Valley River Regulatory Committee has informed that they will release another 1 lakh cusec of water. The state government expects this to be catastrophic for people of state. There has been no discussions in this decision of releasing water with the state government. The state government has requested DVC that such a large amount of water not be released without discussions in an unilateral way. How the release process can be staggered, attempts are being made on that," Alapan Bandopadhyay added.

"We are requesting everyone not to panic but to stay alert. There is a need to stay extra alert on 5th and 6th. If the administration, as per the situation requests people to move from dangerous places like river banks, please pay heed to them", Mr Bandopadhyay said.