Kolkata: After Tuesday’s deluge that left large parts of Kolkata under water, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) said on Wednesday it had pressed all its resources into service to bring the situation under control.
The city received 251 mm of rainfall in 24 hours—the heaviest in 37 years—with some neighbourhoods recording near 300 mm in just six hours.
Tarak Singh, member-mayor-in-council for Sewerage and Drainage department, KMC, said all 82 pumping stations across the city were operational to speed up the draining process. “The water level has started receding. However, as canals are almost full, the outflow is slow. Vehicles are moving but several roads remain submerged.
During high tide, we cannot open the lock gates for about eight hours, which delays the release of water,” he explained. The civic body said southern and eastern parts of the city bore the brunt of the downpour.
According to KMC’s data, Garia recorded 332 mm of rain, Jodhpur Park 285 mm, Kalighat 280 mm, while Topsia and Ballygunge logged 275 mm and 264 mm respectively.
Singh added that the canals, which normally carry away stormwater, overflowed during the intense spell, worsening the inundation. Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has sounded an alert over a fresh low-pressure system forming over the Bay of Bengal on Thursday. More rainfall is expected in Kolkata and other south Bengal districts over the next few days, raising concerns of a repeat situation.
KMC officials said continuous monitoring was on and emergency teams remained on standby to tackle any further waterlogging, if any.