NEW DELHI: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday alleged that the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) released over 1.5 lakh cusecs of water without informing the state government, calling it a “deliberate ploy to unleash disaster” on the state and its people during the Durga Puja festivities.“The latest update on the unilateral and willful release of water by DVC is that, by this evening, they have released more than 1.5 lakh cusecs from the Maithon and Panchet dams, flooding parts of West Bengal during festival times,” Banerjee wrote on X, updating a previous post.“This is a deliberate ploy to unleash disaster on us in order to inflict pains on millions when they are still busy in the Pujas. Shameful, intolerable, unacceptable! We protest!!” she added.In the earlier post, the Trinamool Congress supremo had alleged that 65,000 cusecs of water were discharged on Bijoya Dashami (Vijayadashami). According to state officials, the water released from the Maithon and Panchet reservoirs flowed into the Durgapur barrage and downstream stretches, sparking fears of inundation in parts of Bankura, Purba Bardhaman, Howrah and Hooghly districts. The district administrations have been put on alert to monitor vulnerable riverbank areas. The DVC, a central government agency, has not responded to the allegations. In the past, it has defended such discharges as “technical requirements tied to inflows and dam safety.”Banerjee has often accused the DVC of floodwater “mismanagement,” citing inadequate dredging and poor coordination with the state government. Established in 1948, it is an integrated power producer with a command area of 24,235 sq km across West Bengal and Jharkhand.(With PTI inputs)
