‘No reason to worry, water will recede soon’: Suvendu reviews flood situation in Bengal

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday maintained that there was “no reason to worry” over flooding in different parts of the state as the situation was well under control and the water levels would recede soon.

Presiding over an emergency meeting at the Water Resources Department office, the CM took stock of the situation with senior officials of various departments and district magistrates. Several areas of the Lower Damodar Valley have been inundated after “heavy” to “extremely heavy” rainfall, with water flowing above the danger mark in Khanakul, Jangipara and Udaynarayanpur, officials said.

“Even if some water remains accumulated in these areas, there is no reason to worry. The situation will improve,” Adhikari said. He said people were being evacuated from vulnerable areas and arrangements were being made to shift cattle to safer locations.

Adhikari said the rise in river levels had increased pressure on dams, but the situation remained under control. He also praised the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) for its handling of the situation and said it had reduced the amount of water being released.

“Despite the adverse situation, DVC has done a good job,” he said. “Extremely heavy rainfall and tremendous water pressure have not caused any dam to crack. Under the previous Trinamool government, many dams used to crack during monsoon and attempts were made to control the situation by placing sandbags,” Adhikari said.

The Lower Damodar Valley, particularly parts of Howrah and Hooghly districts, remains vulnerable to flooding during the monsoon. Several areas have been inundated following the heavy rainfall triggered by the depression.

State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), civil defence and police personnel are engaged in rescue and relief operations in the affected areas. Arrangements are also being made to provide food and drinking water to people in the inundated areas.

The administration is closely monitoring the situation, with officials directed to ensure that residents in the affected areas do not face major difficulties as water levels are expected to come down Box: CM announces Mithun as Bengal govt's 'cultural adviser' Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday announced that veteran actor and BJP leader Mithun Chakraborty will be the “cultural adviser” of the West Bengal government.

The CM said this during the foundation laying ceremony of the Uttam Kumar Film Centre in New Town. Speaking to the media later, Chakraborty said, “We will try to bring back whatever we have lost. We are giving a 30 per cent subsidy for film production so that we can bring people from across India to Bengal.

We are asking people to come to Bengal and shoot here.” Also, the Chief Minister launched the state Tourism Department's new logo titled “West Bengal — Where India Feels Different”, with the campaign line “See it in a new form, see it through new eyes”, at the Dhono Dhanya Auditorium in Kolkata’s Alipore.