Overview

• The Damodar Valley Corporation issued an orange alert and said about 70,000 cusecs were released from Maithon and Panchet around 9:30 am Friday, with flows expected to reach downstream areas through October 6.
• Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged the discharge was unnotified during festival time, first citing 65,000 cusecs and later claiming cumulative releases exceeded 150,000 cusecs by evening, while the agency offered no immediate public response.
• State irrigation officials opened a control room and put multiple south Bengal districts on alert, reporting increased outflows at Durgapur Barrage as upstream levels rose.
• The India Meteorological Department forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall over parts of Jharkhand and West Bengal due to a depression, and officials cautioned that rising inflows could necessitate additional dam releases.
• The dispute widened into politics, with BJP leaders rejecting the chief minister’s charges and past DVC statements pointing to decisions taken through the Damodar Valley Reservoir Regulation Committee.