N Bengal gears up to tackle monsoon fury

HT, 16 Jun 2016, SILIGURI: Time has been a major constraint for the state irrigation department and central water commission this year to put in place flood control measures across the vulnerable places in Bengal. 

The state government has identified 245 km-long highly vulnerable river banks where flood control measures have started on war-footing. 

State irrigation minister Rajib Bhattacharya, who on Wednesday held a high-level meeting here and took stock of the situation of seven districts of North Bengal, said that measures would be taken to shift people staying along the vulnerable river banks to safer places. 
Stating that monsoon entered North Bengal on Wednesday, Bhattacharya said that the state Assembly election left the government with a very short time to put in place flood control measures. 

The sudden release of water from different hydro-power project dams in Sikkim and Bhutan has been a perennial problem for North Bengal. The problem aggravates during monsoon. On Wednesday, the minister once again raised the issue. 

“Sikkim and Bhutan either do not inform us about the release of water or inform us at the last hour. This leaves us with no time to take up requisite measures. Hence, we will try to shift people living along the vulnerable river banks to safer places,” Bhattacharya said. 

According to the minister, 245 km-long river banks in the state have been identified as very vulnerable and out of the total area, 40 to 45 km falls in North Bengal. He said that he has instructed officials to complete the safety works, including construction of river embankments, within 15 days.