Bengal sounds flood alert weeks before Durga Puja

Just a fortnight before West Bengal celebrates its biggest festival Durga Puja, the state government has sounded a flood alert for seven districts in the southern part after a deep depression and heavy rainfall over Jharkhand and western Bengal resulted in a rapid rise in the water levels of rivers and dams in the region.

- SUPROTIM MUKHERJEE

The Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC), a central utility which controls dams like Panchet and Maithan, was forced to release 1 lakh cusecs of water. Water levels in several rivers of south Bengal began rising after the DVC started releasing excess water through its dams from 9 am, officials said on Tuesday.

The West Bengal government sounded the alert for districts like West Burdwan, Bankura, Birbhum, East Burdwan, West Midnapore, Hooghly and Howrah as the authorities apprehend a high possibility of floods in these seven districts ever since the Met department has predicted heavy rainfall in the upper catchment areas of the Damodar Valley Corporation in Jharkhand till 5 October.

"In the past, floods had hit the State whenever the DVC released additional water from Durgapur Barrage. This time, there is a high possibility that the DVC would release additional water because of heavy rainfall in the upper catchment areas of Maithan dam," said a senior official.