Kolkata rains: Mamata blames DVC dredging flaw for city floods, CESC lapses for electrocution deaths

Kolkata, Sep 23 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday pointed fingers to the Damodar Valley Corporation and Kolkata’s power utility CESC, holding them responsible in parts for the distress and suffering that the record-breaking torrential rains brought upon citizens barely days before the Durga Puja festivities.

The overnight downpour – among the heaviest in nearly four decades – led to widespread flooding that paralysed Kolkata and left at least eight people dead by electrocution from unsecured live cables in the city, besides disrupting air, rail and road transport, shutting down educational institutions, and forcing the state government to declare Puja holidays in education institutions two days in advance.

Banerjee announced that the government would ensure a job to the next of kin of the victims and said she has urged the CESC to pay additional compensation of Rs 5 lakhs each.

“Our colleagues and officers are working relentlessly to normalise the situation in Kolkata and some of its added areas which have been badly affected by this sudden calamity,” Banerjee wrote on X.

“The state was already reeling under floods and its rivers and canals filled to capacity on account of the unilateral water release by the DVC. Large volumes of water from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh poured in from the Farakka Barrage which already was crisis-ridden due to lack of dredging (of river beds). On top of that, this massive downpour happened. I am keeping a close watch on the situation through the (Kolkata) mayor and the chief secretary,” she added.

Underlining the need to save people from the current distress, the CM stated that she has instructed all state-run educations to declare holidays for the next two days. She also directed state government employees to work from home for the next couple of days and implored the private sector workforce to follow suit.

“I express my deepest condolences to the families who lost their kin on account of negligence of the CESC. There can be no compensation for death and no alternative to life. Yet, we will ensure employment for one member of each of the victim families. I have asked the CESC to offer compensation as well. These families deserve this compensation besides our heartfelt empathy,” she wrote.

Banerjee shared in his post the phone numbers of the control room which is monitoring the situation round the clock from state secretariat Nabanna and urged people to remain cautious during the next few days.

Earlier in the day, the CM said she never experienced rain like ever before in her life.

"Even our houses are submerged; we are all suffering. I am feeling so bad for the Pujo pandals as well," Banerjee said, adding that schools have been asked to declare holidays and officegoers advised to stay home for their own safety.

Squarely blaming the power utility, she said, "Electricity is supplied by CESC, not us. It is their duty to ensure people do not suffer because of this. They will do business here, but will not modernise here? They should send people to the field and fix this." Warning of further flooding, Banerjee said more water inflow meant more waterlogging and the high tide in River Ganga was making matters more difficult for the civic bodies of affected areas.

“Where will we pump out the water? There is no place to go, it must return to the Ganga only. Where will we send this water? The river is already full of Bihar and UP's water,” she said.

The CM also accused the Centre of “slashing state funds through GST”, and maintained that the state coffers were getting depleted because of funds that are being utilized to deal with such calamities. PTI PNT RG SMY NN