Tensions escalate between West Bengal and Jharkhand as Mamata Banerjee accuse DVC of man made flood
News Mania Desk/ Piyal Chatterjee / 20th September 2024
A clash between West Bengal and Jharkhand resulted from the flood disaster, when Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee issued an order to block the inter-state border. Mamata Banerjee accused the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) of flooding 11 districts in southern Bengal with five lakh cusecs of water over the course of three days. She criticized Hemant Soren, the chief minister of Jharkhand and an ally of the INDIA alliance, for not answering her pleas.
According to The Times of India, Mamata Banerjee declared that her administration was “severing all ties” with the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC), alleging that it was “flooding Bengal to save Jharkhand.”
She criticized DVC for its poor management of water release, citing its operations in both states. Supriyo Bhattacharya, general secretary of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), responded by labelling the decision “hurried and unreasonable” and threatening to stop goods trucks from transporting necessary supplies to Bengal.
He went on to say that because of the excessive rainfall, Jharkhand’s reservoirs were almost at risk, and the report states that an inter-state body is in charge of regulating the discharge of water from dams.
The border is being blocked, according to Mamata Banerjee, to keep cars from being washed away by flooding on the Bengali side. But after Bengal Police started obstructing lorries and other commercial vehicles from Jharkhand at the Dhanbad-West Burdwan border at Kulti, the Soren-led JMM issued a threat of reprisal. Tensions between the two states have increased as a result of the situation.
District authorities in western Bengal have stated that checkpoints were set up along the Jharkhand border to stop all non-emergency cars entering the country. Banerjee presided over an emergency meeting after inspecting the East Midnapore and Howrah flood-affected areas and stating that even the Durga Puja pandals were flooded.
“Why should Bengal always suffer? Why will DVC always try to keep Jharkhand safe? I need to protect Bengal,” Mamata Banerjee said.
“This flooding is not because of rain. It is because of the absence of any desilting or dredging despite my appeals to PM Narendra Modi,” she added.
Anjani Dubey, executive director of DVC, responded by stating that the PSU has decreased water release in accordance with a decrease in rainfall. The Jal Shakti and power ministries said that all protocols were followed and that all parties involved were informed about the anticipated weather and water release, refuting Banerjee’s allegations as well.
