Centre must not discriminate between states in providing relief funds: Mamata

Malda: About 152 people have died while over 1.5 crore people have been affected across 11 districts and around Rs 14,000 crore worth properties were damaged due to floods in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Monday. The Chief Minister also said that the Centre must treat all flood-affected states equally and provide flood-related funds to each one of them. "We have heard that Centre has released Rs 2000 crore funds for Assam and also released funds for Gujarat. I have no objection to that as I want every flood-affected state should get such packages. Bengal has been equally affected by floods just like Gujarat, Assam and Bihar. We also need such packages and we will send a full report on Bengal floods to the Centre. It is a legitimate demand and we believe that we will get it," Banerjee said after holding a meeting with state and district officials in Malda district.

The CM held a monitoring meeting in which state Chief Secretary Malay De, Home Secretary Atri Bhattacharya, DGP Surajit Purkayastha, disaster management secretary and DMs of the six affected districts were present.

Banerjee, who visited the three flood-hit districts of Malda, Uttar Dinajpur and Dakshin Dinajpur to take stock of the situation there, said that around 45,000 people have been affected in the three districts.

The chief minister said the state government's primary task was to help those affected by the floods.

"Our primary objective is to rescue and provide relief and then start the restoration of the damaged houses. We have to disinfect the tubewells, schools, health centres, hospitals," she said.

The administration has been instructed to take proper precautionary measures and supply medicines keeping in mind the possibility of the outbreak of several waterborne diseases in the aftermath of floods, Banerjee said.

"There has been massive rainfall in this season but the flood was caused mainly because of overflowing river water.

This is a natural phenomenon, but I think the Centre must look into this," she said.

The Centre must conduct dredging. Dredging was not done in the Farakka barrage), barrages in Durgapur and the DVC. Water from the Sankosh river inundated West Bengal, she said.

"During summer, we face water scarcity because river water is stopped at different dams and during monsoon the dams release water which inundates areas in West Bengal," the CM said.

"We must keep in mind that states have their boundaries and we must maintain good relations with each other", she said.