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Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed the flood situation in Bengal with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday, 4 August. During their call, CM Banerjee raised concerns over the Damodar Valley Corporation's release of water that has led to the inundation of the surrounding regions, and called it a "man-made" flood.
"PM assured all possible support from the Centre to help mitigate the situation. PM Modi prays for the safety and wellbeing of those in affected areas," the prime minister's office tweeted.
Banerjee has also written to PM Modi over the "man-made flood situation in some districts of the state due to unprecedented release of water from the DVC dams at Panchet, Maithon, and Tenughat", reported ANI.
Banerjee has asked him to draft a plan for upgrading dams, according to PTI.
At least 15 people have died and nearly 3 lakh have been displaced in six districts of West Bengal after heavy rainfall, followed by discharge of water from Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) dams, which left several areas of the state flooded, a report said.
Bengal has been seeing heavy rains for some time now. Meanwhile, a DVC official said that since 31 July, the corporation has released 5.43 lakh cusec of water till Tuesday evening, according to news agency PTI.
Several houses have also reportedly been damaged due to the floods in the state.
The affected districts include Hooghly, Purba Bardhaman, Howrah, Paschim Bardhaman, Paschim Medinipur, and South 24 Parganas.
An official told PTI that some of the deaths are due to electrocution, snake bite, wall collapse and that a final report from district administrations is awaited.
Mamata To Conduct Aerial Survey
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will conduct an aerial survey of flood-affected areas in Howrah and Hooghly on Wednesday, ANI reported.
CM Banerjee has also instructed cabinet ministers to be physically present at their respective districts and monitor rescue operations, a senior state government official said, according to a report by Outlook.
On Tuesday morning, after visiting the flood-affected areas of Ghatal at Paschim Medinipur district, Panchayat Minister Subrata Mukherjee said that he would inform CM Banerjee of the situation, and take appropriate steps to address the situation.
I have witnessed several floods in the past, but the situation is terrible this time. The CM had asked me to look into the matter. After conducting this survey, I will report to her.Panchayat Minister Subrata Mukherjee
Army, Air Force Undertake Rescue Ops
On Monday, the Army and Air Force undertook rescue operations in all the flood-affected districts.
According to a government official, over one lakh tarpaulin sheets, 1,000 MT of rice, thousands of drinking water pouches and clean clothes have been sent to the state's rescue shelters, where the affected people have been housed.
The official said that they are yet to estimate the total loss incurred during the flood. For now, the main priority is to rescue the affected, he said.
In Hooghly district, the official said, water from Rupnarayan and Dwarakeswar rivers have risen over the banks and flooded residential areas.
So far, the official said that over one lakh people have been rescued and shifted to shelter homes in Hooghly district. However, there are dozens of other people who are still stranded on the rooftops of their homes, he said and added that NDRF personnel are on their toes to rescue them.
Helicopters and boats are being used in rescuing affected people in the district. Besides, emergency food packets are being dropped at the affected areas via choppers.
IAF Helicopters, an official said, have rescued 31 people and have sheltered them at Arambagh.
The official also said that one flood-relief column of the Army is deployed at Dhanyaghari in Hooghly.
(With inputs from PTI, ANI and Outlook India)
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