Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday visited flood-ravaged Ghatal in West Midnapore, wading through ankle-deep waters to address a crisis that has gripped the region year after year.
With roads submerged and homes marooned, the CM took direct aim at the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) and the BJP-led central government for what she called their “chronic apathy” towards the people of south Bengal.
“There will be action,” Miss Banerjee declared, her voice rising over the sloshing waters of an inundated lane in Ghatal town. “We have waited 20 years for the Ghatal Master Plan. The Centre has done nothing. Now, post the 2026 Assembly elections, we will take matters into our own hands.”
Miss Banerjee’s visit, flanked by Ghatal MP and actor Dev, district magistrate Khurshid Ali Qadri, and superintendent of police Dhritiman Sarkar, came as large parts of West Midnapore continued to reel under the effects of relentless monsoon rainfall and the sudden discharge of water from DVC reservoirs.
“This is not just a natural disaster—it is a man-made catastrophe,” Miss Banerjee alleged. “Whenever it rains in Nepal, North Bengal is submerged. And whenever the DVC releases water from Panchet and Maithon, South Bengal sinks.”
Accusing it of neglecting decades-old responsibilities, Miss Banerjee said, “The DVC has not conducted any dredging for 20 years. This year’s release of water broke all records. Why don’t they dredge their reservoirs? If they had, the water-holding capacity could have increased by at least 10,000 cusecs.”
She questioned the rationale behind uncoordinated water releases that endanger human lives and livelihoods in Bengal every monsoon. “This oppression will no longer be tolerated,” she warned. “We will construct embankments and water-retention infrastructure if needed. A blueprint is being drawn up.”
Following it, the chief minister declared an additional Rs 500 crore for the Ghatal Master Plan, supplementing the Rs 1,500 crore already committed by the state government. “The tenders have been awarded. Work will begin right after the monsoon. We are targeting November to complete critical dredging and allied projects,” Miss Banerjee said.
The plan involves dredging 25 kilometres of riverbed, purchasing Rs 7 crore worth of high-capacity water pumps, and ensuring that no local population is displaced in the process. “We’ve already initiated surveys to explore alternative alignment options to protect people and farmland,” she added.
Miss Banerjee also alleged discrimination by the Centre in its disaster-relief allocations, stating that BJP-ruled states like Bihar and Assam receive generous assistance during floods, while Bengal is perennially neglected. “It’s a step-motherly attitude,” she said.
Ghatal MP Dev, who had recently held a review meeting on the flood situation, accompanied Miss Banerjee on the inspection tour. He reiterated that excessive rainfall and the sudden discharge of water by the DVC were the primary causes behind the flooding. “Still, there have been no major complaints because the administration has been proactive,” he claimed.
Apart from infrastructural commitments, Miss Banerjee also addressed the widespread agricultural losses due to flooding. “Fields of paddy, jute, and potatoes are underwater. We will provide 100 per cent of the crop insurance payout. As soon as the waters recede, the agriculture department will begin field surveys,” she said.
On her way to Ghatal, Miss Banerjee made a brief, symbolic stop at the village of Birsingha—birthplace of educationist Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. There, she was gifted a bust of Vidyasagar by local residents as a token of support for her government’s stance against the “humiliation of the Bengali language”. Miss Banerjee interacted with villagers and also inspected a local health camp.
For nearly a month and a half, Ghatal and its adjoining areas have remained waterlogged, with residents trapped in homes and agricultural activity at a standstill. Despite multiple proposals and pilot interventions, the full implementation of the Ghatal Master Plan—a comprehensive flood management project first proposed decades ago—has been caught in a bureaucratic quagmire.
Yet Banerjee’s visit, and her renewed pledges, appeared to infuse a sense of urgency into a problem that has long been synonymous with neglect.
“This time, it will not be business as usual,” she said. “We will fight the floods—not with words, but with action.”