CM alerts administration against likely inundation of Howrah, Hooghly lower areas

Kolkata: Expressing concern over the possibility of water released from DVC reaching the low-lying areas of Howrah and Hooghly district by the wee hours on Tuesday, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday directed the concerned officials to be on alert and take necessary measures.

Khanakul in Hooghly while Amta and Udayanaryanpur in Howrah are expected to be inundated because of the water release from DVC. With Tenughat dam in Jharkhand releasing 1 lakh 20000 cusec of water on Sunday early morning, Panchet dam released 1.14 lakh cusec and Maithon released 6000 cusec of water. Water released from Panchet and Maithon accumulates in the Durgapur Barrage and so the DVC was compelled to release 1 lakh 20000 cusec.

Sources said Banerjee, after Monday’s Cabinet meeting at her assembly chamber, held a meeting with MLAs of the areas where probable inundation may occur and directed them to be vigilant, particularly in the backdrop of the extremely high tide of new moon on Monday night.

However, with a decrease in rainfall in Jharkhand, the DVC on Monday morning had released only 49000 cusecs of water which is expected to dip further during night with the prediction of very light rainfall.

Banerjee on Sunday morning spoke with Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren over telephone and informed him that the sudden and huge release of water from Tenughat has already started flooding Bengal. She spoke with all the district magistrates concerned in South Bengal as well as in North Bengal and asked them to be particularly vigilant and take proper care of the calamity situation in the next few days.

“We have made necessary arrangements for absorbing water in our dams during the peak time of release from Jharkhand‘s Tenughat and during the time when rainfall has been less, the water was released. As per our calculation, this strategy has brought down the chances of flood by 48 per cent,” said an official

of Nabanna.