West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday at 4 PM faced reporters from Uttarkanya while visiting North Bengal. She raised her voice against the opposition, accusing them of always “politicizing” the disaster situation.
“This is being unnecessarily politicised. Carnival is Bengal’s pride. Many guests used to come from our country as well as from foreign countries. All clubs are waiting. And what we would do reaching on Sunday evening at North Bengal? What is the priority then, rescue operation or giving security to VIPs?” she said.
She informed that after this deluge on the 4th, she had held a meeting with the DG and Chief Secretary at 5 AM regarding the situation.
Bengal CM clarifies why she attended the Kolkata Carnival
When there was a disaster situation in North Bengal, some opposition members questioned why CM attended the carnival in Kolkata. “In the name of VIP. Some leaders are coming with 30-car convoys or 40-car convoys. That basically not only hampers rescue operations but also damages roads both in hill areas as well as in plain areas. I strictly told the police not more than three cars will be there with my convoy,” Bengal CM said, not naming BJP MP Khagen Murmu.
“It has rained 300 millimeters in 12 hours here. I have heard Four dam in Bhutan completely shut down. Those dams have no water. All water has been released. 56 rivers have released water. There are 14 hydropower plants in Sikkim. Water is not flowing for them. There is no water in the Teesta in summer, it is dry. And in the monsoon, the Teesta floods. Thousands of people have also drowned in Florida. Earthquakes are more common in the mountains. There are mountains and forests here. There has also been a lot of damage to the forests.”
“I had a meeting with the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police at 5 am on sunday. When Goutam (Dev) Gautam is reporting at 9 am, seeing that the police, fire department, health, everyone is on the spot. That is, the emergency department was all on the spot. Primary requirement after a flood is to rescue stranded people. They were in panic, the main job of the administration to assure them. We reached North Bengal within 36 hours of the incident,” she added.
The Chief Minister announced that community kitchens will continue to operate until the victims can return home. She will visit North Bengal again within a few days.
Notably, so far, 27 deaths have been recorded in North Bengal. Among them, 18 people died in Mirik and Kalimpong. Five bodies were found in Nagrakata.
