Furious Mamata slams DVC over release of 1.5 lakh cusecs during Puja
Furious at the unilateral discharge of about 1.5 lakh cusecs of water by the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC), West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today accused the central agency of a deliberate ploy to unleash disaster on the people of the state during the festive season.Protesting against the DVC’s fresh release of water from different dams, Banerjee said, “This is a deliberate ploy to unleash disaster on us to inflict pain on millions when they are still busy in the Pujas. Shameful, intolerable, unacceptable! We protest!!”Giving an update on the “unilateral and wilful release of water” by the DVC, she said that by this evening, the agency had released more than 1.5 lakh cusecs of water from the Maithon and Panchet dams to flood Bengal during the festival period. She said it was a “manufactured disaster” after the DVC released water on Bijoya Dashami without prior notice to the state.Banerjee added that the sudden discharge endangered millions of lives during Durga Puja festivities.She described the move as “reckless” and “unacceptable,” accusing the central agency of disrupting peace and placing the state at high risk. “Bijoya Dashami marks the close of Durga Puja – a time for joy, cheer and renewed hope. Yet, instead of allowing the people of West Bengal to conclude the festival in peace, the DVC released water without any prior notice to the state. This reckless act is nothing short of an attempt to inflict misery during our sacred festivities,” the chief minister iterated. Banerjee said the act on the part of the DVC was”unilateral, shameful, and absolutely unacceptable”. “By releasing water without intimation, the DVC has placed millions of lives in Bengal in immediate peril. This is not a natural calamity; it is a disaster manufactured by the DVC,” she said.“Let me be clear, I will not allow anyone to carry out a Bisarjan of Bengal. Every conspiracy against our people will be resisted with full force. Truth will prevail over deceit and good will triumph over evil,” she concluded.Meanwhile, reports from the districts said that local administrations and disaster response teams sounded alerts after the DVC release and began evacuations in low-lying areas along rivers and canals.Officials reported rising water levels in several districts and moved residents from vulnerable zones to safer shelters.Puja organisers postponed or shifted immersion activities in affected places to avoid large gatherings near inundated riverbanks. State emergency services deployed boats and rescue teams to manage sudden waterlogging and assist in transporting the elderly and children away from risk zones during the holiday.
Airspace violations force NATO to tread a tightrope, deterring Russia without hiking tensions
NATO is stepping up aerial surveillance in the Baltic Sea, while France, Germany and Sweden are bolstering Denmark’s air defenses ahead of two summits in Copenhagen this week over a series of troubling drone incidents near the country’s airports and military bases. The number of serious airspace violations in Europe has spiked this month, including by Russian warplanes. But not all NATO allies agree on how to respond. Poland is ready to use lethal force. Others say that must only be a last resort. Regardless of who is to blame in Denmark, European leaders believe that Russia is testing NATO. Military planners in Moscow can observe how Western forces react, and countering intrusions by relatively cheap drones is a financial burden on the allies. In the wake of the drone incident in Poland, NATO launched operation Eastern Sentry, with Britain among the allies to send more air defense equipment. However, these deployments might also deprive Ukraine of the air defense systems it badly needs from its allies. NATO must tread a tightrope in its response. Poland’s message is blunt. It intends to shoot down intruders over its territory. “If another missile or aircraft enters our space without permission, deliberately or by mistake, and gets shot down and the wreckage falls on NATO territory, please don’t come here to whine about it,” Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski told Russia’s U.N. delegation last week. “You have been warned.” Poland activated its air defenses over the weekend during a major Russian attack on Ukraine. Defense is a national prerogative, even within the world’s biggest military alliance. Poland or Finland, say, might use force to defend their territory. U.S. President Donald Trump has agreed that European countries should be able to shoot intruders down. The responsibility for that act would lie with the nation concerned. NATO, though, is likely to be more cautious in any joint operation using aircraft and equipment drawn from across the 32-country alliance. “We have to act decisively and quickly,” NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said last week, but he underlined that it’s important to “always assess the threat levels” to see whether force is necessary.
Animal sacrifice held en masse at Odisha shrine despite opposition
Animals were slaughtered en masse in the early hours today during the Chhatar Yatra festival in Odisha’s Kalahandi district, despite widespread opposition to the age-old custom. The famous Chhatar Yatra of the presiding deity, Maa Manikeswari, was taken out on the streets of Bhawanipatna, the district headquarters township, traversing a three-kilometre route. Devotees sacrificed numerous animals, mainly goats, along both sides of the road as a mark of fulfilling their wishes. The ritual lasted for several hours, with the cries of the animals filling the air, amidst the frenzied beating of drums. The local administration refrained from intervening to end the practice, allowing hundreds of garlanded animals to be slaughtered. This lack of intervention meant that tradition prevailed over legal objections. Residents defended the practice, stating that the goddess Manikeswari shields the region from natural fury. They view the animal offering as a gesture of reverence to ensure the safety of lives, crops, and livestock. According to locals, the mass sacrifice is performed annually as an age-old ritual followed by worshippers of the Shakti cult. Elaborate security arrangements ensured the annual event concluded peacefully, with no untoward incident reported. The bloody ritual, however, culminated in devotees releasing doves into the air as a traditional mark of peace.
