With heavy rains lashing the state and Jharkhand and barrages in the two states discharging more water downstream, West Bengal is heading towards another round of floods, state Irrigation Minister Saumen Kumar Mahapatra said on Thursday. Howrah, Hooghly, Birbhum and Bankura districts, areas of Purba and Paschim Medinipur districts besides the industrial areas of Asansol and Durgapur in Paschim Barddhaman district are likely to be flooded, he said. According to a report of the department, water discharged from down Durgapur barrage till 5.30 pm was down 2,04,000 cusec, while the combined discharge of DVC was 1,00,000 cusec. "This is a very grave situation. With heavy rainfall in the last few days in our state and Jharkhand and enhanced water discharge by dams, West Bengal is heading towards another flood. This is inevitable," Mahapatra said. In early August parts of south Bengal experienced flood and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had alleged that "man made flood" was caused by excessive release of water by Damodar Valley Corporation which had hit lakhs of farmers and claimed 16 lives.
The report said the combined discharge from Darakeswar and Gandheswari dams at Bankura was 1,20,000 cusec, while it was 3000 cusec from Mayurakshi dam was 3,000 cusec. Tilpara barrage in Panagarh discharged 12,000 cusec, Sikatia barrage on Ajoy river discharged 90,000 cusec and Kangsabati dam 30,000 cusec as registered by the irrigation department, it added.
"We have requested the barrages and dams to limit their discharge to this level and not increase it," the minister said. Asansol and Bankura recorded their highest rainfall in history in the last 24 hours even as a well-marked low-pressure, causing the torrential rain, moved to north Jharkhand and Bihar. Asansol in West Burdwan recorded 434.5 mm rainfall in 24 hours till Thursday morning, while Bankura, the headquarter town of Bankura district, recorded 354.3 mm rain during the period, it said in a bulletin.
"These are the historical highest 24 hours rainfall recorded so far in Asansol and Bankura," the weather office said. Durgapur recorded 200 mm rainfall, Purulia 170 mm, Kangsabati 140 mm and Phulberia 110 mm, it said. The situation is likely to deteriorate as the weatherman said heavy to very heavy rain is likely in some places of Paschim Barddhaman and Birbhum districts, while heavy rain is likely at certain places in Bankura and Purulia districts till Friday morning, it said.
State chief secretary H K Dwivedi on Thursday held a high-level meeting at the state secretariat with senior government officials, secretary to the irrigation department, district magistrates and police superintendents and other officers, an official said. Dwivedi directed the senior officers to take precautionary measures to contain the situation. The officers were alerted and DMs and SPs were directed to be ready with the relief materials. "The disaster management teams have been asked to be ready as the situation has deteriorated. We are surely heading towards a flood in the state," the official said.
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