No sooner than Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the kins of the deceased, and 50,000 for the injured in Bengal flood, after an interaction with chief minister Mamata Banerjee, the Leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari said he is writing to the PM to refute Mamata’s “false accusations” against the DVC that it created a “man-made” flood.
As thousands of people continue to live in flooded areas where water has ravaged civilization, washing away hundreds of homes, the TMC and the BJP lock horns in a blame game where each is holding the other responsible for causing the flood.
Miss Banerjee in her interaction with the PM has held the Damodar Valley Corporation responsible for the flood in South Bengal. She alleged that large cusecs of water were released from the dams without intimating the Bengal government. She said that the canals of the dams need dredging to increase capacity and until that happens, the DVC must not release water at random, causing “man-made” floods in large parts of the state.
Her interaction with the PM received a positive response as the Prime Minister’s Office subsequently tweeted that it would compensate for the loss of lives in this disaster. The BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, however, has taken offence at Mamata’s complaints to the PM against the DVC.
Talking to media persons, he said, “The CM cannot escape from her responsibilities by pushing the ball into DVC’s court. The state government was informed on 27 July that the DVC will release water due to heavy rainfall in the adjoining states. What did the DMs, BDO and irrigation department do to prepare for it? Was there any public announcement to warn the people and take necessary measures?”
“The state government is very much a stakeholder in the DVC’s monitoring committee where the secretary of the irrigation department represents the government. Further, I will inform the PM how the state government’s poor lackadaisical attitude has led to the flooding of Kolkata and Salt lake areas just after few hours of rain” said the BJP leader.