River levels rising in Bengal districts; no fresh water release from DVC on Saturday

Kolkata: The water level in several rivers in various districts of West Bengal has been rising, with a few either approaching or crossing danger marks following heavy rain in the past few days, the irrigation department said in its daily report on Saturday.

There is no report of any water release by the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) on Saturday at least till noon, officials said.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had accused the central PSU of deliberately releasing water from its dams on Friday “without informing the state government” and creating a flood-like situation in south Bengal districts during the Durga Puja festivities.

About 70,000 cusecs of water were released by the DVC on Friday.

The irrigation department said that in Purba Bardhaman district, the Damodar river showed a significant rise in water level at Edilpur (27.34 metres) and Jamalpur (18.32 metres) basins.

In Hooghly district, the Champadanga gauge station recorded the water level of the Damodar at 11.10 metres against a danger mark of 12.90 metres. The Rondia station in Paschim Bardhaman district reported the water level at 50.60 metres, while the danger mark is 77.08 metres.

The water level breached danger marks at several points, including the Kaliaghal river in Paschim Medinipur, where the gauge was at 8.65 metres — 0.25 metres above the threshold.

In North 24 Parganas, Gaighata and Gobardanga stations on the Jamuna River crossed their danger levels by 0.07 metres and 0.06 metres, respectively.

The discharge at Champadanga was reported to be rising, raising concerns of downstream flooding.

Meanwhile, a yellow warning has been issued for the Teesta river in unprotected stretches from Mekhliganj to the Bangladesh border on both banks, signalling the need for vigilance in low-lying areas, officials said.

They said that precautionary measures are being taken in vulnerable pockets as monsoon rains continue to impact river basins across the state.