West Bengal is facing worsening flood-like conditions as the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) has discharged over 300,000 cusecs of water from its Panchet and Maithon dams within seven hours, according to officials.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced on Monday night that a flood-like situation is anticipated in at least seven downstream districts of the state following the release of water from dams in neighboring Jharkhand.
Officials reported that initially, 90,000 cusecs of water was released on Monday night. However, due to the continued high upstream water flow, an additional 210,000 cusecs was discharged on Tuesday morning, up to 6:54 AM.
DVC officials said that 3 lakh cusecs of water was released from 11.30 pm on Monday to 6.54 am on Tuesday. Banerjee had on Monday said that Birbhum, Bankura, Howrah, Hooghly, Purba Bardhaman, and parts of North and South 24 Parganas districts were already experiencing flooding due to heavy rain over the past two days, and the capacity of the rivers was already full.
"I have called the Jharkhand Chief Minister three times, urging him to regulate the release of water," West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said. "Some people are trapped in Hooghly due to a sharp rise in water levels, and the administration has been instructed to conduct rescue operations." Following two days of continuous rain across several districts of West Bengal, the deep depression responsible for the downpour has moved towards Jharkhand, resulting in heavy rainfall in the neighboring state.