On Bengal Floods, Mamata Banerjee's Big Move Against Ally-Ruled Jharkhand

Repeating her charge that the floods in West Bengal are a "man-made" disaster, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and blamed the release of water by the Damodar Valley Corporation from reservoirs in Jharkhand for the situation. Her government has also "sealed" the state's borders with Jharkhand, ruled by INDIA ally Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), and stopped the entry of heavy vehicles.

In her letter on Friday, Ms Banerjee said that all districts of South Bengal - Purba Bardhaman, Paschim Bardhaman, Birbhum, Bankura, Howrah, Hooghly, Purba Medinipore and Paschim Medinipore - have seen devastating floods because of an "unprecedented, unplanned and unilateral release of an enormously huge volume of water at nearly 5 lakh cusec" from the Maithon and Panchet dams owned and maintained by the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC).

"The state is now facing the biggest flood in Lower Damodar & adjoining areas after 2009. More than 1,000 sq km of area stands affected and nearly 5 million people of the state have been drawn into the vortex of miseries for loss of crops, damages to public infrastructure & private assets, including houses, cattle etc," the Trinamool Congress chief wrote.