Kolkata, Oct 24 (IANS): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Thursday that over 83,000 people in vulnerable areas have been shifted to the relief camps as a precautionary measure in the wake of Cyclone Dana.

“The state government has identified a total of 3,56,941 individuals residing around vulnerable low-lying areas. A total of 1,55,337 individuals have voluntarily shifted to safer places. A total of 83,547 individuals have already been shifted to the temporary relief camps,” the Chief Minister told media persons.

She also said that already 851 relief camps are fully operational, adding that like previous occasions of cyclones, she will be at the state secretariat of Nabanna throughout Thursday night monitoring the situation from the special control room there.

“Just as there is no reason to panic unnecessarily, there is also no reason to be over-complacent that Cyclone Dana’s landfall will happen in neighbouring Odisha and not in West Bengal. To me human life is most important and the primary task of the administration is to protect human lives. I have decided to stay back at Nabanna on Thursday and monitor the entire situation,” the Chief Minister said.

Besides the Chief Minister, the Chief Secretary Manoj Pant and the state Home Secretary Nandini Chakraborty will also be staying back at the state secretariat on Thursday to monitor the situation.

The Chief Minister once again accused the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC). “I heard that they have released 24,000 cusecs of water again. Had they done the dredging properly, their water-holding capacities could have been more,” she said.

In September this year, the Chief Minister announced the decision of the West Bengal government to withdraw its representation in the Damodar Valley Reservoir Regulation Committee (DVRRC), as a protest against the alleged “disregard for West Bengals’ concerns and lack of cooperation regarding flood moderation.”