JOIN US'Man-made flood': Mamata hits out at Centre over Ghatal situation
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday accused the Centre of dragging its feet over a crucial flood control project in the state’s West Medinipur district. Following an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas of the district, Mamata said that despite repeated reminders by the state government, the Centre was not approving the project.
Speaking to reporters after visiting flood-hit areas of Ghatal in the district, the Chief Minister said that her government will soon send a team to Delhi to pursue the Centre to approve the Ghatal Master Plan.
“I have done a survey of the area and will prepare a report after returning to Kolkata,” said Mamata.
“Today, as I was on my way to Ghatal, I saw how heavily flooded the entire region is. Despite raising these concerns multiple times, the Central government took no cognizance of the grave situation. The need of the hour is to solidify the Ghatal Master Plan and act on it on an urgent basis. Meanwhile, the state government will keep working towards providing support to those affected by the floods,” she stated in a social media post.
Alleging that the floods in the area were the outcome of a “well-organized plan”, the Chief Minister said that district officials have to work in a more organized way.
She reiterated her allegation that the flood-like situation in Bengal was “man-made.” Earlier she alleged that the situation was the outcome of the “unplanned” release of water from the dams of the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) and urged the Centre to conduct dredging in the reservoirs of the DVC to increase their capacity.
According to the Ghatal Master Plan, several projects would be started in the area to desilt the local rivers and build a dam on the Shilabati river. At least 23 persons in Bengal have died due to the flood-like situation which has affected six districts.