Monsoon plays catch-up, sinks Kolkata

Kolkata: Friday’s afternoon rain — the heaviest so far this monsoon — put Kolkata Municipal Corporation’s (KMC) preparedness to test as reports of waterlogging started pouring in from several pockets even before the downpour could lose intensity by 4pm.

Large parts of Kidderpore, Mominpore, Behala, New Alipore, Chetla, Rashbehari Avenue, Gariahat, Jodhpur Park, Jadavpur, Garia, Bansdroni and areas off EM Bypass went under water in the hour-long rain.

Fortunately, pockets of north, central and south Kolkata were spared because there was a low tide in the Hooghly in the afternoon, said a KMC drainage department senior official.

According to KMC records, Friday’s rain in some parts of south Kolkata and its suburbs was the “heaviest in shortest duration” this season.

Going by civic drainage department sources, Behala received 72mm rainfall in an hour between 3pm and 4pm. The results were obvious. Various parts of Behala were left inundated, throwing traffic out of gear. Thousands staying in the waterlogging-prone areas like Parnasree Pally, Silpara, Sarsuna, Shakuntala Park and areas off James Long Sarani had a hard time as water refused to recede till late at night. Civic officials at KMC control room received numerous calls from Behala residents, who were marooned in their houses.

Sources in the KMC drainage department pointed out that Behala residents have been suffering during monsoon for past six years owing to an incomplete drainage upgrade project, which is being carried out by Kolkata Environment Improvement Project (KEIP) and funded by the Asian Development Bank.

“We have asked KEIP officials to wrap up the project by March 2020 so that we can provide relief to residents of Behala next monsoon. On Friday, we needed to press into service portable pumps to drain out stormwater,” said a KMC drainage department official.

However, Behala residents weren’t ready to buy the civic argument. Gautam Pal, a resident of Sarsuna and a retired state government official, said: “I had come to the area from Bhowanipore a couple of years ago and now I want to sell off my flat and go back to my ancestral house.”

Like Behala, residents of Jadavpur, Garia, Bansdroni and areas like Mukundapur, Madurdaha, Nayabad off EM Bypass had to bear the brunt of waterlogging following the sharp shower. Srabani Poddar, a resident of Central Road in Jadavpur and a physician, could not take her car out as the garage went under water in no time. Poddar complained they are forced to stay indoors every time it pours.

For a change, residents of north and central Kolkata, on the other hand, were spared on Friday. KMC drainage department records show barring a few pockets like Muktarambabu Street, MG Road, Entally, CIT Road (Park Circus) and Beliaghata, no cases of heavy waterlogging were reported from north and central Kolkata.

At Nabanna, mayor Firhad Hakim said all efforts were being taken to combat waterlogging in large parts of south Kolkata and its suburbs. “We are alert and know how to tackle waterlogging. Today’s waterlogging in some south Kolkata areas and its suburbs was an exception as these areas were lashed by heavy rain in a short duration. We have asked the civic officials to keep all pumps ready at the drainage pumping stations,” Hakim said.

Tarak Singh, mayor-in-council member overseeing the KMC sewerage and drainage department, said all pumps were functioning efficiently to drain out stormwater. “We have kept all pumps ready anticipating another round of downpour on Saturday,” Singh said.