Ananya Dutta KOLKATA: Two people were killed and nearly 11.5 lakh affected in certain districts of south Bengal by floods caused when large quantities of water were released over the past two days from the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) reservoirs . StateFinance Minister Asim Dasgupta held a meeting with the Ministers and officials of the departments concerned and it was decided that relief and rescue operations would be given priority. The districts of Howrah, Hooghly, Bardhaman and Paschim Medinipur were badly affected said Mr. Dasgupta, adding that Rs. 8 crore had been sanctioned for relief and rescue operations so far. The amount will be increased. Nearly 17,400 people have been rushed to relief camps where 700 tonnes of dry rations, 60,000 tarpaulin sheets and 20,000 pouches of drinking water have been sent, he said. More drinking water will be dispatched soon. Fifty-five speedboats have been pressed into action to conduct rescue operations. Mr. Dasgupta said the release of water from the DVC reservoirs was reduced to 2.2 lakh cusecs from the 3 lakh cusecs that was let out on Monday, after Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee wrote to the Centre demanding that the water be released in a phased manner. The release of water from barrages at Kanshabati, Mayurakshi and Chandil has been restricted. Even as the authorities were grappling with the flood , a low-pressure area that formed over coastal West Bengal on Tuesday led to heavy rains in the southern districts. While heavy rainfall in Gangetic West Bengal is predicted, the situation is expected to improve over the next 24 hours.