Trinamul Congress leaders in north Bengal have started collecting details of destructions caused by the erosion of riverbanks in the region in order to flag the alleged apathy of the Narendra Modi government in addressing the issue which affects the livelihood of hundreds of people every year.

“Chief minister Mamata Banerjee had categorically said the central government had stopped providing funds for anti-erosion measures. No funds are provided for flood control either. So, the responsibility now lies with the state government to stem the erosion of land along the banks of rivers like the Ganga. To prove the extent of the damage and losses which people suffer, we are gathering information from different levels,” said a Trinamul functionary in Malda.

A number of rivers which originate from Bhutan enter north Bengal and wreak havoc on tea gardens and villages in the Dooars during the monsoon. In districts like Malda, North Dinajpur and South Dinajpur, rivers like the Ganga, the Mahananda, the Fulhar and the Koshi flow violently during the rains, eroding huge chunks of land on either bank.

“In the past few days, erosion was reported in Malda and a number of families shifted to safer locations. Many families in Malda and Murshidabad have lost their land and homes to erosion. The entire responsibility is with the state, whether it is the anti-erosion works or the rehabilitation of these families. The central government just sits silent. It has to provide funds as the state alone can’t shoulder the responsibility,” said Abdur Rahim Boxi, the Malda district president of Trinamul.

Mamata had criticised the Centre when she was on a trip to Malda in May. “They haven’t paid a penny even though we were supposed to receive around Rs 700 crore for the Ganga. Even the Farakka Barrage Project Authority does nothing to curb the erosion. We, on the other hand, are providing funds in a consistent manner,” the chief minister had said.

The Trinamul leaders said they were collecting information about people who had lost land and houses because of the erosion. Details of those who were affected by flash floods are also being gathered.

“Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, we want to prove that like the Centre, the legislators of BJP elected from north Bengal are silent on the issue,” Alipurduar district Trinamul chairman Mridul Goswami said.

He pointed out that most of the affected areas in north Bengal were in the constituencies of BJP MPs.

Further, a number of BJP MLAs have been elected from constituencies which have areas hit by erosion and flash flood.

Bengal irrigation minister Partha Bhowmik has also sought the Centre’s intervention on the flash flood issue.

“We don’t get information from Bhutan about rivers flowing from that country. When it rains in Bhutan, the rivers flood the Dooars. The central government should step in and take up the issue with the neighbouring country,” he said.

Englishbazar BJP MLA Sreerupa Mitra Choudhury said the state government was trying to pass the buck.

“The central government works in a comprehensive manner to address such issues in different states. But here, Trinamul leaders and state ministers blame the Centre for non-allocation of funds, instead of elaborating on what they have done to tackle erosion or flash floods so far,” she said.