Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will set up lifting stations at five strategic points in the outfall zones of the Bidyadhari Canal and the Ganga River to prevent waterlogging, ensuring smooth drainage even when the lock gates are closed.
The plan comes in the wake of a detailed survey conducted by the Drainage department of the KMC under the supervision of its Member Mayor in Council (MMiC), Tarak Singh, following heavy rainfall of an average of 320 mm in the city on September 23, in which several areas of the city remained inundated for long periods.
Lock gates linked to the drainage systems of the Adi Ganga and the Ganga River will be connected to lifting stations to facilitate water discharge. Of the 27 lock gates along these rivers, six already have fully functional lifting stations.
“We have already received the approval of the Mayor for executing this plan, and talks have been initiated with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for funds,” said Singh.
The KMC has already come up with a ward-wise digital map of the city, and the drainage infrastructure of 7000-odd slums within 144 wards of the civic body has been completed. “Now we will start a ward-wise study to assess whether it has the capacity of handling rainwater at the rate of 40 mm an hour and take appropriate measures where necessary, considering the outfall truck sewer. These measures will be taken up in the second phase,” said an official.
This work will follow a survey to check whether the sumps of the 82 pumping stations that are discharging water into 6 mother pumping stations have adequate capacity and suggest measures that should be undertaken.
“Once we are armed with all this data, it will be submitted to the Mayor, who also heads the Urban Development department, so that funds can be sought for the dredging of the main outfall Bidyadhari canal and the Ganga River. We can present a strong case with our urge for funds from the Centre, if we have all the data pertaining to the entire drainage infrastructure,” said Singh.
A meeting will be held involving all borough and other concerned engineers, on the basis of which they will start a ward-wise survey exercise.