Mamata uses floods to divert attention from her governance of State

KOLKATA: With the widespread allegations of irregularities and corruption at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital that have come to light following the rape and murder of a 31-year-old junior doctor, the Mamata Banerjee Government is on the backfoot.
Adding to the discomfiture of the ruling party has been the whole-hearted support of the general populace to the 42-day-long dharna by junior doctors. The fact that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee herself holds the Home and Health portfolios, both of which failed to perform their duties, has added to the disillusionment of even die-hard Trinamool Congress supporters.
The widespread rain earlier this week in East India, especially Jharkhand and West Bengal, caused extensive flooding in many south Bengal districts. Though it brought misery to lakhs of people, critics say it is like manna from heaven for the beleaguered Chief Minister.
“Many believe that the Trinamool from top to bottom is engaged in corruption. After the scams in Education, coal, cattle smuggling, RG Kar has showed us how those close to the party made money even by selling the dead bodies, apart from a host of other scams. Mamata Banerjee has taken up the flood issue to divert the people’s attention from the wrongdoings at RG Kar,” said lawyer Tarunjyoti Tiwari, who is also a BJP youth leader, told The Sunday Guardian.
As flooding caused by what Mamata Banerjee termed a “man-made disaster” continues to wreak havoc in south Bengal, she wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday (September 20), urging him to release substantial Central funds to undertake extensive flood management work in the interest of the people.
In a four-page letter dated September 20, the West Bengal Chief Minister highlighted how the unprecedented, unplanned, and unilateral release of an enormous volume of water by the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) has devastated all districts in south Bengal, causing severe hardship to the people.
The DVC has a network of four dams — Tilaiya and Maithon on Barakar River, Panchet on Damodar river and Konar on Konar river.
“I would like to draw your kind attention to the fact that as a result of an unprecedented, unplanned, and unilateral release of nearly five lakh cusecs of water from the combined system of Maithon and Panchet dams, owned and maintained by the DVC, all districts of south Bengal have been plunged into devastating floods, causing severe miseries to the common people,” Banerjee wrote.
“If this unilateral approach continues, bringing hardship to the people of my State, we will be left with no option but to disengage entirely from DVC and withdraw our participation. We cannot allow this ongoing injustice to affect our people year after year,” she warned.
Significantly, in the letter, the Chief Minister mentioned that the disaster directly affected a population of 5 million in the region. “The State is now facing the biggest flood in Lower Damodar and adjoining areas since 2009. More than 1,000 sq km is affected, and nearly five million people have been drawn into the vortex of miseries due to the loss of crops, damages to public infrastructure, and private assets, including houses and cattle… I am compelled to call it a man-made flood,” she wrote.
The Bengal CM further informed that, despite providing critical information to DVC authorities about the downstream rivers already flowing close to or above the extreme danger level, and requesting a deferral of water release from time to time, the dam release was increased in quick succession.
“I also spoke with the DVC chairman over the phone on the night of September 16,” she said.
“Combined water release was increased in quick succession on September 17, from 90,000 cusecs to an abrupt 2,50,000 cusecs within nine hours, which continued for long hours,” she added.
Banerjee also claimed that the release could have been deferred under the emergency provision of encroaching beyond the maximum flood management level at the Maithon and Panchet reservoirs.
“It remains a fact that a sharp increase in the combined dam release was made without waiting for the water level to reach the Maximum Flood Management level and without any prior consultation with the State Government.”
“I believe the situation has further worsened. It is also concerning that DVC appears to have shifted focus from its primary objective of flood control in the Damodar River, as mandated by law, to power generation, disregarding its social obligations. This shift has sacrificed the interests of downstream West Bengal,” she added.
The Chief Minister said “the need for dredging and desilting the DVC reservoirs to restore their floodwater holding capacity” has been highlighted at various meetings with the Centre in the past 10 years. “Unfortunately, no visible action has been taken on the ground,” she said.
The Union Government responded almost immediately.
Union Jal Shakti Minister C R Patil rebutted Mamata Banerjee’s allegation. He wrote that the State’s officials were informed at every stage about the release of water from Damodar Valley Corporation reservoirs, which was essential to prevent a major disaster.
In his letter, Patil addressed the Chief Minister’s concerns about the flooding caused by the release of water from the DVC reservoirs.
He explained that the releases were managed by the Damodar Valley Reservoir Regulation Committee (DVRRC), which includes representatives from the Central Water Commission, West Bengal, Jharkhand, and the DVC.
“After huge rainfall in Jharkhand and Bengal, it became imperative for the committee to substantially enhance the releases to avoid any catastrophic impact in south Bengal due to possible dam failures,” he said.
Touring the flood-affected areas on Thursday, Banerjee said that she had called Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren – an ally in the Opposition I.N.D.I. bloc — as well as DVC authorities, requesting them not to discharge water to West Bengal. “If they want to release water, they should give intimation. They can also discharge water slowly. But instead, they discharged 3.5 cusecs of water without informing us, which is unprecedented. To save their State (Jharkhand), they planned to flood Bengal,” Banerjee had alleged. She also banned the entry of trucks from Jharkhand to West Bengal.
The ruling JMM in Jharkhand slammed Banerjee for blaming the State. At a press conference in Ranchi, JMM spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya said: “The DVC has cleared the issue… the decision to release water was taken jointly by the water resources departments of West Bengal, and Jharkhand as well the technical expert committee of the DVC. The mental condition of Mamata Banerjee is not right and that is why she is levelling allegations against the Jharkhand Government. And that is why she stopped freight trucks on the border…”
The principal Opposition party in the State, the BJP, also slammed the Chief Minister. Its Leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, said: “your ploy and strategy to shift blame is getting old and repetitive. Every time around this time you utter these words – “Man-made Flood” and try to hold the Central Govt, the Jharkhand Govt and the DVC responsible for floods in West Bengal.
“However, the truth is that you and your Irrigation & Waterways Department are an utter failure. Neither you take any preventive or precautionary measures before the monsoons nor have you taken any steps to boost the infrastructure in order to tackle the annual problem.
“As far as I remember, the World Bank approved Rs 5000 crore loan to WB Govt to build and operate new irrigation structures such as flood walls, river embankment armouring, desilting the adjoining rivers, creating small-scale storage structures, creek rehabilitation, digging canals etc to manage the flood situation in the Lower Damodar Basin area.
“75% of the funds have been drawn. What is the result?
“The result is that every time Bardhaman, Bankura, Hooghly, Howrah, Paschim and Purba Medinipur gets flooded you see it as a photo session opportunity to reach the spot with a 50-vehicle convoy and start blaming others for your inefficiency.
“People are tired of your PR event. Ask your Administration to help people in need and at least make arrangements for baby food, drinking water and dry food items. Shift people from the submerged areas on war footing. Set your ego aside and seek assistance from the Army & NDRF.”
Sources told The Sunday Guardian that Governor CV Ananda Bose had also written to the Chief Minister, defending the DVC. According to a source in the Raj Bhawan, the Governor in his communication said: “The districts of South Bengal viz. Bankura, Birbhum and Paschim Medinipore do not fall in the Damodar Valley river system. The inundation in these areas is due to the extreme rainfall conditions over Kangsabati, Silabati and Dwarakeshwar rivers and huge releases from Mukutmanipur dam of Kangsabati river which has breached protective embankments and caused devastating floods. Here DVC is not the concerned authority.”