Kolkata: The residents of Howrahs Amta found Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee by their side, standing in knee-deep water, taking stock of the situation and interacting with the locals who have been badly affected due to the massive inundation. Banerjee was scheduled to conduct an aerial survey of the flood-hit areas that she gave up due to inclement weather. She reached Amtas Siamore area by road to stand beside those who have been impacted due to the man-made deluge. Braving all odds, Banerjee reached the affected places and waded through knee-deep water while it was raining heavily and assured the people that her government is doing its best to ensure their safety when the level of water in inundated areas was constantly going up. "I would like to tell everyone starting from the administration to ministers to ensure timely evacuation of people from vulnerable areas. The level of water in these areas would further go up as there is a forecast of heavy rainfall. It should not claim any lives. Necessary steps need to be taken in this regard," Banerjee said. Stating that her government took the initiative to ensure airlifting of stranded people, she said: "We must keep in mind that life is precious. So, we all must cooperate with the administration in carrying out the evacuation drive." The Chief Minister was scheduled to take an aerial survey of the areas, including Khankul, Ghatal, Amta and Udaynarayanpur in Howrah, Hooghly and West Midnapore. As it had to be cancelled due to inclement weather, Banerjee said she would be visiting the places once the weather condition improves. State Irrigation minister Saumen Mahapatra also wrote to the concerned authorities urging them not to release water from DVC reservoirs for the next three to four days. This comes when the DVC has released 40,000 cusecs of water from the dams at Panchet and Maithon. There was a release of around 60,000 cusecs of water from the Durgapur barrage at 5 pm on Wednesday. Mahapatra visited Keshpur to take stock of the situation following the CMs directions.

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