Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee whose Government had been under considerable pressure for unimpressive handling of flood relief operations on Monday did some political gymnastics shifting part of her “load” on third parties (read the Centre and neighbouring Bihar) blaming lack of dredging of rivers and cutting of embankments “to transfer one’s crises on other.”
Touring flood-hit districts of Malda, North and South Dinajpur, the Chief Minister also expected “nondiscriminatory” treatment from New Delhi in terms of relief assistance “so that Bengal is treated on a par with the (BJP-ruled) States like Assam and Gujarat.”
With the most severe flood in about three decades hitting seven districts of North Bengal and leaving about 1.5 crore badly affected, the Chief Minister demanded equitable assistance from the Centre.
“I have heard that Assam has received Rs 2,000 crore. Gujarat too has received Central help. I don’t grudge their getting assistance which they must have got in their own rights. But as a federal State Bengal will also expect central assistance on par with the other States,” claiming 152 people had perished in floods in the past one month.
“This includes people who died in snake bites,” the Chief Minister said.
This year’s floods had badly affected train and road service between North and South Bengal with no train running between Kolkata and Siliguri and beyond for the past several days. Though buses were plying sparingly as parts of NH-34 and 31 were under water and many bridges getting washed away.
Bringing back her old allegations that the floods were mostly man made she said “River Ganges at Farakka and Damodar at Durgapur apart from other rivers under DVC should be regularly dredged which is not happening. In northern part of the State River Sankosh also needs dredging.
“As Bengal lies on the lower trajectory area of most rivers it faces flood fury whenever there is excessive rain in upper regions. Not only the rivers are not dredged regularly but also flood gates are opened without much consideration for our people causing serious floods in Bengal.”
Incidentally ruling Trinamool Congress workers and government staff had to face the fury of flood victims in most of the districts in the past a few days.
Floods wreaked havoc in Cooch Behar, South Dinajpur, North Dinajpur, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and Malda districts, affecting more than 1.5 crore people.
The Chief Minister also blamed neighbouring States like Bihar for causing flooding in parts of North Dinajpur. “I have been told by the local DM that an embankment was deliberately cut in Purnea in Bihar so that the water escaped to our region inundating villages like Itahaar and other areas in North Dinajpur,” she alleged.
Meanwhile, flood situation tended to improve in most districts save North Dinajpur and Malda where river Mahandana continued to remain on spate flowing over NH 34, sources said adding Mahananda was flowing 1.5 metres above the extreme danger level in the English Bazar. Rivers like Fulhar and Kusmandi were also flowing around danger level.