Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said that she would write a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to look into the problem of regular floods in Bengal owing to excessive release of water from the dams of the Damodar Valley Corporation, a central power utility.
“I will write a letter to the Prime Minister urging him to take serious care (about Bengal). I would also say that don’t deprive Bengal,” said the chief minister during a news meet at Nabanna on Saturday after a review meeting on the flood situation.
Nearly 22 lakh people in Bengal have been hit by the floods, which the state government termed “man-made”.
“The chief minister has made it clear that she would blame the Centre for the misery of lakhs of people in the state... If the PM cares about the people of Bengal, he should take steps to ensure they don’t suffer because of floods every year,” said a Trinamul insider.
Mamata on Saturday made it clear that this time she would urge Modi to take up the issue of sudden release of water with the DVC in addition to the existing demands of renovation and restoration of the DVC dams.
She also said her government could claim compensation from the DVC.
“The DVC is responsible for the floods in Bengal. I condemn this and we would claim compensation from the DVC for the damages. I will draw the attention of the Prime Minister in this regard,” she said.
She added that she would ask Union home minister Amit Shah for assistance too.
“I will ask the Union home minister to allot funds for the disaster. We don’t get central funds after any kind of disaster...,” Mamata said. “We did not get anything after Amphan, Phani or Yaas. This time, I will request (the Centre) to release funds for the people who are struggling amid the floods,” she added.”
In the past few years, the chief minister had written several letters to the Prime Minister urging him to initiate measures to restore and renovate the DVC dams. On August 4, she wrote the last one on desilting the DVC dams to ensure they hold more water.
“However, nothing was despite the chief minister’s appeals since 2015. But this time, the chief minister’s letter is likely to put pressure on the Centre... It is clear she will make it a political issue against the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls," said a source.
