Mamata Banerjee flags erosion in Ganga Council meeting

“Vast stretches of Malda and Murshidabad districts of the State were affected by erosion of the river bank,” Mamata Banerjee said and sought the Centre’s help in checking the disaster.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on December 31 brought to the notice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi the issue of river bank erosion and how it impacts the lives of thousands of people at the National Ganga Council meeting in Kolkata, according to officials.

“Vast stretches of Malda and Murshidabad districts of the State were affected by erosion of the river bank,” she said and sought the Centre’s help in checking the disaster.

“In every deltaic tract, riverbank erosion occurs frequently. West Bengal is not an expectation to this phenomenon," officials quoted the Chief Minister as saying at the closed-door meeting.

“The Ganga has caused significant erosion in the entire Dhulian region in Murshidabad district for many years,” she said adding that the erosion has intensified since the construction of Farakka Barrage.

“The people living along the bank of the Ganga in Dhulian are also suffering from erosion-induced problems from past decades,” Ms. Banerjee said. She sought the help of the Central government in checking erosion.

"The Farakka Barrage's downstream part still has a problem with erosion and population displacement. As a measure to manage flooding and river bank erosion, it is advised to establish a Flood Control Commission,” she said.