Kolkata: Salt Lake Sector V, Bengal’s Information Technology (IT) hub, was left completely waterlogged on Tuesday following the heavy downpour.
Large parts of Salt Lake, under the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC), and New Town also faced severe waterlogging owing to clogged sewerage lines and related problems.
Water started accumulating from the early hours of Tuesday, submerging main roads and bylanes and causing massive inconvenience to office-goers. The stretches between SDF and Technopolis, and from Philips More to the 215A bus terminus, saw water levels rise close to waist height. Several cars and two-wheelers were damaged.
According to the Nabadiganta Industrial Township Authority (NDITA), the Eastern Drainage Channel and the Kestopur canal began overflowing due to the heavy rain. As water from the NDITA area is usually pumped into the Eastern Drainage Channel, pumping was not possible on Tuesday. NDITA officials also alleged that persistent waterlogging near the Sector V Metro station, between Philips More and the 215A bus terminus and adjoining stretches was linked to sewerage lines damaged during Metro construction.
Beyond Sector V, residents in Karunamoyee, Broadway, City Centre and other Salt Lake pockets also reported heavy waterlogging. Sector 3 was among the worst affected. However, as water levels in the canals dropped, most accumulated water receded by Tuesday evening.
BMC chairperson Sabyasachi Dutta said streetlights in inundated areas would be disconnected as a precaution. “Taking a lesson from the incidents of death due to electrocution in Kolkata, the streetlights will be off where waterlogging is still persisting,” he said.
In New Town, almost every locality went under water. Though most areas cleared once the rain stopped, residents of Action Area I complained that water had not drained even by Tuesday evening.
NKDA Disaster Management Teams later removed the accumulated water, which officials said had been caused by clogged sewerage linked to construction works.
Several key stretches of VIP Road, including Lake Town, Baguiati, Haldirams and Kaikhali, were also left submerged after the torrential downpour.