Flood situation remains grim; child swept away

The two-year-old was carried away by the strong current of water and block three of Kaliachak was completely submerged with thousands of people marooned in different locations. The administration also said that the river is flowing at 30 centimetres above the normal water level and the civil defence personnel were pressed into rescue operations.

“Different barrages have started to release water once again. The Durgapur Barrage has released 56420 cusec in Thursday morning while  Maithon and Panchet Dam have released 6,000 cusec and 3500 cusec respectively,” a senior officer of state administration said.

There are several gram panchayat areas in the district including Ratua, Manikchak, Krishnapur, Birnagar, which are completely underwater. The flood water also poured into the two roads which were constructed under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) project leading to immense difficulty in vehicular movement as several rescue vans with food and other materials were struck.

The administration had facilitated four relief camps to provide shelter to the deserted people but still thousands are reeling due to the inundated conditions in the area. Boat services have started in the inundated areas to ferry the stranded and provide relief materials.

A team of state irrigation department will reach the villages soon to expedite the rescue work. However, the MeT department has predicted rain and thundershower across South Bengal on Thursday and Friday which can only worsen the flood situation. West Midnapore, Chandrakona town and Ghatal are the worst affected places. The Keshpur block in Midnapore, Sadar town has also been severely inundated. The locals have alleged that at least two persons were killed after being washed away by the flood water.

NDRF teams have been deployed in Malda for relief and rescue operations. Major areas in Howrah, West Midnapore, Burdwan and Bankura got submerged since the DVC released excessive water.

West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee has already accused the Damodar Valley Corporation of causing man-made disaster and warned the DVC of legal action if they did not stop releasing water.

The unremitting rainfall, along with the discharge of water through the DVC dams and barrages, has turned the situation grim in South Bengal. There are thousands of people still stranded and several properties were damaged due to the flood water. Crops and cattle were also washed away. But disproving the allegations of non-cooperation on the part of DVC, made by the state government, the barrage controlling agency said that the water release was not in their control.

“The Damodar Valley River Regulation Committee (DVRRC) is chaired by the Member (River Management) of the Central Water Commission (CWC) and comprises of representatives of the governments of West Bengal and Jharkhand, DVC and CWC,” a press release issued by the DVRCC said.

In order to diminish the impact, a customised flood warning system for the general public has been adopted, are mentioned in the release. DVC has also decided to boost up the storage level by 5 to 10 feet at each dam, the release further added.