‘Man-made disaster’: CM blames DVC’s unplanned water release behind floods

Kolkata: Calling the flood-like situation in parts of South Bengal a “man-made disaster,” Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday launched a blistering attack on the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC), accusing it of releasing massive volumes of water from its reservoirs without alerting the state government.

Banerjee squarely blamed the DVC for what she described as the result of “policy negligence and political discrimination,” saying the uncoordinated water discharge had inundated several districts, disrupting lives and livelihoods.

Pointing out that thousands of cusecs of water have been released from Tenughat, Maithon and Panchet dams without any prior intimation, she said: ‘’This is not a natural calamity, it is a human-made disaster.” Banerjee claimed that the DVC has not carried out dredging in its reservoirs for years, severely reducing its water retention capacity. “Had dredging been done regularly, the combined capacity of the three dams could have held up to four lakh cusecs of water. But due to their negligence, the people of Bengal are paying the price,” she said.

She was critical of the Centre’s alleged discriminatory attitude and said: “States like Assam receive immediate funds for flood relief and we have no objection to that. But when Bengal faces a disaster, there is neither help nor sympathy from the Centre. We always have to spend from our resources.”

She noted that even for large-scale infrastructure projects like the Ghatal Master Plan, the state alone bears the financial burden. Highlighting the state’s achievements in environmental conservation, Banerjee said that over 4.5 lakh traditional ponds have been revived under the state’s ‘Jal Dharo Jal Bharo Programme’.

“These ponds help tackle water scarcity and play a vital role in maintaining ecological balance,” she said, warning that strict legal action would be taken against those who attempt to fill up ponds illegally. “Destroying ponds is equivalent to destroying Bengal’s future,” she cautioned.

Banerjee pointed out how, in earlier years, unregulated construction in Kolkata led to encroachment of drains

and water bodies.

“But now, urban planning has become more regulated. The municipal corporation and urban development department have implemented uniform rules and no one can just build a structure anywhere,” she said. Citing positive developments in Bengal’s environmental initiatives, Banerjee noted that forest cover in the state has increased by 4,000 square kilometres

in recent years.

She claimed that compared to states like Delhi, Rajasthan, and Bihar, Bengal has significantly lower air and water pollution levels. “We are constantly working to improve in this regard,” she said.