Mamata Banerjee urges Hemant Soren to monitor the water release from Jharkhand dams causing floods in southern Bengal

Sub: Geo

Sec Indian Physical

Context:

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee met with Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren to discuss the excessive water flow from the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) dams in Jharkhand, which are causing flooding in southern Bengal.

Details:

Water release from Tenughat dam increases pressure on DVC dams at Maithon and Panchet, all on the Damodar River.
The water release affects the Durgapur barrage, submerging low-lying areas around the Durgapur township of West Bengal.
In Hooghly district, the Mundeshari River overflowed, submerging agricultural land, homes, and washing away bridges, stranding residents.

Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC):

DVC is a statutory body which operates in the Damodar River area of West Bengal and Jharkhand states of India to handle the Damodar Valley Project, the first multipurpose river valley project of independent India.
Indian Astrophysicist Meghnad Saha, the former chief architect of river planning in India, prepared the original plan for the Damodar Valley Project.
It operates both thermal power stations and hydel power stations under the ownership of Ministry of Power, Government of India.
DVC is headquartered in the Kolkata city of West Bengal, India.

Dams constructed under the DVC:

1. Tenughat dam	Tenughat Dam is an earthfill dam with composite masonry cum concrete spillway across the Damodar River at Tenughat in the Petarwar block of Bokaro district in the Indian state of Jharkhand.
2. Maithon dam	The Maithon Dam is located at Maithon, 48 km from Dhanbad, in Jharkhand India. It is one of the biggest dams in Jharkhand. This dam is built on the Barakar River.
3. Panchet dam	Panchet Dam was the last of the four multi-purpose dams included in the first phase of the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC). It was constructed across the Damodar River at Panchet in Dhanbad district in the Indian state of Jharkhand and opened in 1959.
4. Tilaiya Dam	It has been constructed across the Barakar river at Tilaiya in Koderma district of Jharkhand.
5. Durgapur barrage	Durgapur Barrage is built across the Damodar River at Durgapur in Paschim Bardhaman district and partly in Paschim Bardhaman district, in the Indian state of West Bengal. It was constructed by Damodar Valley Corporation mainly for irrigation and also to supply water to the Industrial township of Durgapur. The irrigation and canal system was transferred to the Government of West Bengal in 1964.

Damodar River:

The Damodar River rises in the Palamu hills of the Chota Nagpur plateau in the state of Jharkhand.
It passes through two Indian states namely, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
The Damodar occupies the eastern margins of the Chotanagpur Plateau where it flows through a rift valley and finally joins the Hugli.
The Barakar River is its main tributary.
Due to the devastating floods caused by the Damodar River and its tributaries in the plains of West Bengal, it is also known as the ‘sorrow of Bengal’.

Source: TH