West Bengal CM accuses Damodar Valley Corporation of ‘anti-Bengal conspiracy', triggering floods
'A staggering 11-fold increase in DVC's water discharge in 2025, compared to 2024, has shaken us. It is 30-times higher than 2023!! There is a systematic attempt to trigger more and more flood-like situations across South Bengal. This is not a natural disaster. It's a man-made catastrophe, more and more,' Ms. Banerjee wrote on X.
In her post, she cited data, claiming that the outflow from DVC during June and July of this year was 50,287 lakh cubic metres whereas its outflow in the same months last year was only 4,535 lakh cubic metres.
Damodar Valley Corporation is a Central agency that manages a network of dams in the Damodar river valley area spread across Jharkhand and West Bengal.
'This massive, sudden, unprecedentedly high release during peak monsoon this year has devastated our districts, destroying huge crops, breaching large number of embankments, damaging numerous roads, and forcing thousands to evacuate. The huge increase in water releases this year to flood Bengal is deeply disturbing and shocking. I detect deep conspiracy in this!' the Chief Minister further claimed in her social media post.
In earlier years too, Ms. Banerjee publicly criticised the DVC for releasing water and aggravating the State's flood crisis during monsoon.
Flooding since June
West Bengal experienced acute flooding since June this year, with the Minister for Irrigation and Waterways, Manas Ranjan Bhunia, saying earlier that the flood crisis in the State this year has been the worst in recent years. He attributed it largely to the alleged mishandling of water release by the Damodar Valley Reservoir Regulation Committee (DVRRC) and the unusually high rainfall experienced across the State in 2025, among other factors.
'In spite of repeated requests and timely communication from the State government, the DVRRC did not handle the dam release from DVC dams in Jharkhand to facilitate effective flood management in West Bengal,' Mr. Bhunia had said on July 31.
He also alleged that the DVC did not undertake dredging in its dams and claimed that heavy siltation was the reason behind decreased depth of the reservoirs and their consequent inability to contain the water.
'We have repeatedly asked the Central government to undertake dredging and restore the depths of the reservoirs to increase their containing capacity. But they are not doing the needful. Capacity to contain the water with full depth of the reservoir has decreased because of extreme siltation. They do not have the capability to release the water in a controlled, measured way,' Mr. Bhunia had said.
At 5 p.m. on Monday, the DVC flashed a flood warning on its website for Panchet Dam for the release of 60,000 cusecs of water with an expected time of arrival to different areas of south Bengal between July 5 and July 8.
DVC officials could not be contacted for a comment.
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