As the death toll from the West Bengal floods has risen to 28, the West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, tried to evade her government’s responsibility in preventing and managing the flood situation by blaming the centre for the poor management of the situation. Banerjee alleged on Monday (6th October) that the floods are “man-made” as they are caused by the water released from the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC).
The DVC is a multipurpose river valley project built on the Damodar River basin in West Bengal and Jharkhand, which includes a network of dams, barrages, and thermal and hydel power stations to manage the river’s flow for flood control, provide water for agriculture, and supply electricity for domestic and industrial use.
DVC released water into West Bengal to prevent flooding in Jharkhand: Banerjee
Dhupguri, Nagrakata, parts of Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar, Matigara, Jorebunglow Sukhiapokhri, Mirik, and areas of Darjeeling and Kalimpong, are among the areas worst affected by the floods. Banerjee alleged that the DVC released water from the Maithan and Panchet reservoirs to protect Jharkhand from flooding. She added that the water from other states, including Bihar, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand, is responsible for the flood situation in West Bengal. “North Bengal has been flooded with water from Bhutan and Sikkim. There was 300 mm of rain for 12 hours. Where will all this water go? We tolerate water from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand. How much more will we do?” Banerjee said.
When the people of Bengal are in distress, I feel their suffering as my own. The recent heavy rainfall and landslides have caused severe flooding across North Bengal, leading to the tragic loss of lives, livelihoods, and property. Dhupguri, Nagrakata, large parts of Jalpaiguri… pic.twitter.com/ND4dQzm2Ym
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) October 6, 2025
Floods in West Bengal are the Centre’s fault: Banerjee
The TMC chief said that water from Bhutan and Sikkim surged through the Sankosh and Teesta Rivers, respectively and flooded several parts of West Bengal. Speaking to the media on Monday, Banerjee said, “If the Centre had done its job of dredging of the Ganga-Hooghly river at several critical points, and if the DVC (Damodar Valley Corporation) had done its de-siltation works, if dams and barrages under control of the Union Government had not been used in this manner against us, and if central government had spent for the necessary public works in West Bengal rather than squandering funds away, our people would have been spared of the man-made flood in large tracts of North and South Bengal this season”.
Central govt rejects Mamata’s claims, says that Rs 1290 crore has been given to Bengal for flood management
Banerjee accused the centre of ignoring her calls for setting up an Indo-Bhutan River Commission. Refuting Banerjee’s allegations of a lack of assistance from the Centre, the Jal Shakti Ministry said Tuesday (7th October), that ₹1290 core has so far been released by the Centre to West Bengal under the Flood Management and Border Areas Programme (FMBAP).
"I had written to the Prime Minister urging the formation of an Indo-Bhutan River Commission, warning that without it, North Bengal would continue to bear the consequences. Yet, I have not received any response. The Centre provides no funds for flood management and has even… pic.twitter.com/SGR2WFRQps
— Ministry of Jal Shakti, DoWR, RD&GR, GoI (@DoWRRDGR_MoJS) October 6, 2025
The Union Ministry added that the Indian government is already engaged with the government of Bhutan regarding problems related to river erosion, deposition of silt and debris on the river bed, as well as the problem of flash floods in West Bengal on trans-border rivers between India and Bhutan. “India-Bhutan Joint Groups/Teams between the two countries, namely Joint Group of Experts (JGE), Joint Technical Team (JTT) and Joint Experts Team (JET), are functional, wherein officials of the State Govt of Bengal are members. Recently 11th JGE meeting held at Paro (Bhutan) took up eight additional rivers entering West Bengal from Bhutan, namely, viz. HashimaraJhora, Jogikhola, Rokia, Dhawal Jhora, Gabur Basra, GaburJyoti, Pana and Raidak (l&ll) to carry out a joint study related to erosion and sedimentation problems on these rivers,” the ministry stated.
Last month, Mamata Banerjee had blamed water from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh for floods in Kolkata, after major parts of the city were submerged during Durga Puja preparations following heavy rains.
