Within the letter, dated September 21, Banerjee expressed her disagreement with the central authorities’s dealing with of the scenario.She claimed that the discharge of water from the DVC reservoirs was finished unilaterally, with out enough enter from her authorities. In keeping with Banerjee, selections associated to water administration had been made by the Central Water Fee and the ministry of Jal Shakti with no consensus being reached with West Bengal authorities.
Banerjee additional alleged that water releases generally happen with out advance discover to the state, hampering catastrophe preparedness. She highlighted {that a} peak water launch, lasting for 9 hours, was initiated with solely 3.5 hours of discover, which she mentioned was insufficient for efficient catastrophe administration.
She took to Twitter and mentioned, “That is my second letter to the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India relating to the devastating MAN-MADE flood in South Bengal attributable to unprecedented launch of water by DVC.”
In an earlier letter to the Prime Minister on September 20, Banerjee said that the floods had affected 5 million folks and urged the central authorities to launch emergency funds to help in restoration efforts.
Responding to Banerjee’s considerations, Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Paatil defended the DVC’s actions. In his letter, Paatil said that West Bengal officers had been knowledgeable at each stage of the water launch course of. He emphasised that the choice to launch water was mandatory to forestall a bigger catastrophe. Paatil clarified that the releases had been managed by the Damodar Valley Reservoir Regulation Committee (DVRRC), which incorporates representatives from the Central Water Fee, the states of West Bengal and Jharkhand, and the DVC.
Paatil additionally famous that from September 14 to 17, the discharge of water from the Maithon and Panchet reservoirs was lowered by 50% on the request of West Bengal officers as a consequence of heavy rainfall within the area.
Banerjee, nevertheless, maintained that her authorities’s views had been typically disregarded and urged for a extra collaborative method in dealing with such crucial selections. She reiterated her name for pressing central funds to handle the widespread injury attributable to the floods.
