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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has branded the current flooding across north Bengal “man-made,” accusing the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) of opening dam gates without warning to shield neighbouring Jharkhand.
Speaking on Monday, October 6, 2025, ahead of an aerial survey of submerged areas, Banerjee said the state was given no time to prepare when the DVC began releasing surplus reservoir water during the weekend’s torrential rain. The discharge, she argued, amplified river levels that were already rising from cloudbursts along the Himalayan foothills.
“We requested Bhutan to release water slowly; Nagrakata, Mirik worst affected,”
Banerjee told reporters, confirming that the state government has also appealed to authorities upstream in Bhutan to moderate outflows from cross-border tributaries.
The districts of Nagrakata, Mirik and Kalimpong are among the hardest hit, with landslides cutting the road to Kalimpong and thousands of low-lying homes still under water. Relief teams have deployed motorboats and temporary shelters, though continuous rain is hampering access.
The DVC, governed by the Union Ministry of Power, operates a string of dams straddling Jharkhand and West Bengal. No official comment on Banerjee’s allegations was available at press time.
The chief minister’s tour is expected to run through Tuesday as officials tally crop losses and begin distributing emergency rations. The state disaster management department has put the preliminary damage estimate at “several hundred crores,” but a full assessment awaits receding waters.
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