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Time of India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Centre rejects Mamata Banerjee's allegation of ‘deep conspiracy' to flood Bengal, says water released scientifically
NEW DELHI: The Centre has rejected West Bengal CM 's allegation of 'deep conspiracy' in flooding the state by centrally administered Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) and asserted that the water release from two reservoirs in Jharkhand was carried out 'scientifically' so that the risk of floods can be avoided in the downstream region. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Responding to Banerjee's post on X, in which she on Monday accused DVC for 'sudden' and 'unprecedentedly high' release of water during peak monsoon, Union Jal Shakti (water resources) minister CR Paatil a day later said the decision to release water from the Maithon and Panchet reservoirs is taken by the Damodar Valley Reservoir Regulation Committee (DVRRC), chaired by the Central Water Commission, with representatives from DVC and the state govts of West Bengal and Jharkhand. Noting that the Damodar basin received 815 mm rainfall between May and July 2025, a significant surge compared to previous years, Paatil on X said, 'This resulted in 16 times higher water inflows into the reservoirs during June-July 2025 than in 2024, and 43 times higher than in 2023.' 'Despite this, DVRRC regulated water release scientifically, limiting peak discharges to 70,000 cusecs to reduce downstream flood risk,' he said. Banerjee, however, alleged a 'staggering 11-fold increase in DVC's water discharge in 2025, compared to 2024' and '30 times higher than 2023', saying there is a 'systematic attempt to trigger more and more flood-like situations across south Bengal'. Flagging that the outflow of water from DVC was 50,287 lakh cubic meters during June-July this year compared to 4,535 lakh cubic meters during the corresponding period last year, she said, 'The huge increase in water releases this year to flood Bengal is deeply disturbing and shocking.' Tired of too many ads? go ad free now In her post on Monday, she said, 'DVC has failed Bengal this year to an unprecedented degree. Clearly, the centrally administered agency is becoming more and more anti-Bengal, in keeping with the ecosystem that the central establishment is trying to generate all over India today.' Sharing the factual position, Paatil in his written response to a Parliament question earlier on the same day in Rajya Sabha said DVC had released 27,987 lakh cubic meters of water from the Maithon and Panchet reservoirs from June 18 to July 15, 2025. The question was asked by TMC MP Ritabrata Banerjee. Incidentally, the West Bengal CM posted her allegation on X after her party's MP already got the written response from Paatil in the upper House on Monday. Paatil made it clear that DVRRC has been mandated to guide DVC in release of water from both the reservoirs in a 'coordinated manner' with due regard to ensure effective flood control as well as to fulfill requirements of drinking, irrigation, navigation and industrial uses for optimal benefits of West Bengal, Jharkhand and DVC. 'DVRRC follows a very systematic and scientific approach for reservoir operation as per laid down procedure in the Damodar Valley Reservoir Regulation Manual approved for the management of DVC reservoirs, in consultation with DVC, govts of West Bengal and Jharkhand,' he said.
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Business Standard
4 days ago
- Politics
- Business Standard
Centre refutes Mamata's claim on floods, says water release was regulated
Jal Shakti Minister C R Paatil on Tuesday rejected West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's allegations of "deliberate flooding" in the state by the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC), asserting that water releases from the Maithon and Panchet reservoirs were carried out scientifically and in coordination with all stakeholders. Responding to Banerjee's claim that the DVC was "anti-Bengal" and responsible for a "man-made catastrophe," Paatil said, "The decision to release water is taken by the Damodar Valley Reservoir Regulation Committee (DVRRC), chaired by the Central Water Commission (CWC), with representatives from the DVC and the state governments of West Bengal and Jharkhand." He noted that the Damodar basin received 815 mm of rainfall between May and July 2025, a significant surge compared to the previous years. "This resulted in water inflows into the reservoirs during June-July 2025 being 16 times higher than in 2024 and 43 times higher than in 2023," the minister said in a post on X. "Despite such pressure, DVRRC regulated water release scientifically, limiting peak discharges to 70,000 cusecs to reduce downstream flood risk," Paatil said. Banerjee had alleged "flood mismanagement" and a "systematic attempt to trigger more and more flood-like situations" in south Bengal. "The centrally administered agency has failed Bengal to an unprecedented degree," she alleged in a post on X, accusing the Centre of "engineering a crisis" through the DVC. She highlighted a sharp spike in water outflows from 4,535 lakh cubic metres in June-July 2024 to 50,287 lakh cubic meters in the same period in 2025, and said the sudden release had devastated districts, damaged roads, breached embankments, and forced mass evacuations. Calling it "deeply disturbing," Banerjee claimed the "30 times higher" discharge compared to 2023 pointed to a conspiracy. "This is not a natural disaster. The data speaks for itself," she said, demanding an immediate halt to such discharges. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Hindu
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
West Bengal CM accuses Damodar Valley Corporation of ‘anti-Bengal conspiracy', triggering floods
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday (August 4, 2025) accused the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) of being 'anti-Bengal' and triggering flood-like situations across the State with a sudden '11-fold increase in water discharge' from its dams. '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.
Indian Express
6 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Mamata blames DVC for ‘man-made' floods in South Bengal: ‘They released 30 times more water than in 2023'
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee blamed the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) for the recent floods in parts of South Bengal, alleging 'a staggering 11-fold increase in DVC's water discharge in 2025, compared to 2024, (which is also) 30 times higher than 2023'. Last year, Banerjee had criticised the DVC for releasing water without consulting the West Bengal government, and withdrew members from DVRRC, the country's first river management project, targeting Jharkhand for the then floods in Bengal. In an X post on Monday, she called the recent floods a 'man-made catastrophe'. 'The DVC has failed Bengal this year to an unprecedented degree. Clearly, the Centrally administered agency is becoming more and more anti-Bengal, in keeping with the ecosystem that the Central establishment is trying to generate all over India today,' she said. 'There is a systematic attempt to trigger more and more flood-like situations across South Bengal.' She shared the purported comparison data of outflow during June and July in 2024 and 2025. According to Banerjee, DVC's outflow in 2024 is 4,535 lakh cubic metres which increased this year to 50,287 lakh cubic metres. 'This massive, sudden, unprecedentedly high release during peak monsoon this year has devastated our districts, destroying huge crops, breaching a large number of embankments, damaging numerous roads, and forcing thousands to evacuate,' Banerjee claimed, 'I detect deep conspiracy in this! This must stop at once!' However, DVC sources claimed that a huge amount of rain in Damodar valley this year forced them to release water. A senior official of DVC said, 'We informed the state government before releasing water from the barrage.' Several regions, including Purba Medinipur, Paschim Medinipur, Howrah, Hooghly, Purba Bardhaman, Purulia, Bankura, and Jhargram districts have been inundated over the past few weeks amid continuous heavy rainfall and water releases. Last year amidst Banerjee's revolt against the DVC, West Bengal's Power Secretary and IAS 2000 batch officer Santanu Basu also stepped down from the Board of Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC). The seven-member DVC Board consists of the Chairman, four Members of DVC and three representatives of government shareholders — one each from the Centre, West Bengal and Jharkhand. The Chief Engineer (Irrigation and Waterways), West Bengal, also resigned to voice protest against the Damodar Valley Reservoir Regulation Committee (DVRRC). (The author is an intern with The Indian Express)
