Mamata Banerjee to seek farm loan waiver in flood-hit districts

KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will apprise Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the flood situation in the state and urge him to waive off the loans of farmers whose crops have been destroyed.
“I am going to Delhi on August 11 and I want to meet the prime minister during my stay in the capital till August 12. I will brief the prime minister about the damages we are facing due to floods in our state. I shall also urge the prime minister to waive off loans of farmers who have lost everything due to the flood,” Banerjee told reporters after assessing the flood situation with senior officials here on Tuesday. Banerjee said she has sought an appointment with Modi to discuss the issue.

The chief minister also said that she will seek funds from the Centre for disaster relief.

Banerjee blamed the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) for the present flood-like situation in the state. “Bengal is suffering because of DVC. Dredging work has not been done due to which water is over flowing. I have already spoken to Union minister Piyush Goyal regarding this. I shall raise this issue during my meeting with the prime minister,” Banerjee said, adding that 12 of the 20 districts in Bengal are affected by floods.

Banerjee said she has asked 12 district magistrates to complete the survey report regarding damages in their respective districts by August 18.

So far, 83 people have died and more than 6.1 million people have been affected due to the flood-like situation in the state. The chief minister is holding video conferences with district magistrates of 12 districts to monitor the flood situation and control distribution of relief materials among affected persons.

Banerjee told reporters that 16,309 villages have been marooned and her government is running 2,449 relief camps to accommodate 431,272 people who have lost their homes. “This is a very serious situation and our government is working on a war-footing to tackle it,” she said.

According to the chief minister, 223 blocks and 53 municipalities in the state have been affected due to heavy rains over the past few days and discharging of water from different barrages under DVC.