Jharkhand not to blame for Bengal flood

The Jharkhand government on Wednesday rubbished West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's claim that Jharkhand was releasing water without information, resulting in flooding in her state.

"We are releasing water as per the inter-state agreement and considering the safety of the dams," Water Resources Minister Chandra Prakash Chaudhary told IANS.

"Take the example of Tenughat dam. Above 40 feet, we have to release the water to Bengal as per the agreement. At present Tenughat dam has 854 feet water. This is an exceptional situation," he added.

The minister said it was not monsoon rain but cyclonic rainfall taking place due to low pressure formed over the Bay of Bengal. "We are getting water from Bengal from the sky and sending it back to Bengal through ground," he said in a lighter vein.

The West Bengal Irrigation Department on Tuesday also protested against the Damodar Valley Corp's (DVC) decision to release water from Panchet Dam, which it claimed has further worsened the inundation in the state's low-lying areas.

Chaudhary said: "We have no control over dams falling under the DVC."

Since the dams of Jharkhand have crossed the danger mark, it was releasing water from Tenughat, Patratu, Chandil and other dams.

An official of the Water Resources Department said: "The Bengal part is irrigated and it also gets power generated from DVC. The catchment areas falls in Jharkhand and benefit goes to Bengal."

--IANS

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