MillenniumPost
Bengal

HIDCO starts drone photography to minimise waterlogging in New Town

Kolkata: Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO) has started drone photography to identify critical areas of the canals where dredging may be required to minimise the duration of waterlogging in some pockets of New Town.

Over the years and especially during dry months, the canals often act as waste dumps with plastic bottles and other garbage piling up. The water pathway thus gets constricted, affecting the free flow of accumulated water during monsoon.

Senior officials conducted survey in different areas and suggested a slew of measures to stop unloading of garbage at the canals that include installation of steel net on the top after cleaning, concrete lining in few places and putting up barrier walls/fences on the canal bank.

The master plan of New Town had laid down a periphery canal ring all around the 30 sq km town. This was to drain out surface run-off water during monsoons so that the neighbouring areas do not get waterlogged.

It may be recalled that the ground level of New Town was raised to about +1.65 to +2.50 m above MSL (Mid Sea Level), so as to prevent waterlogging. This was done by bringing in thousands of truckloads of soil from neighbouring fisheries which were getting silted up, or using the cut-and-fill method leading to, for example, creation of the 112 acre lake of Eco Park.

All of this happened in the initial phase of New Town development, around 2000-2005. The need for the periphery canal arose because the neighbouring villages or town areas had a lower ground level than New Town.

The ring canal at periphery acted as a trap and diverted rainwater to designated outlets at Bagjola Canal, through installation of huge drainage pumping stations at places like Jatragachi and elsewhere.

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