Dredge Bagjola canal to increase water retention capacity: BMC urges Irrigation dept

Kolkata: The Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has urged the Irrigation department to dredge the Bagjola canal in order to increase its water retention capacity.

During the heavy rain over the past few days a large part of Salt Lake was inundated. The accumulated water cannot be pumped out to the Bagjola canal as water level had increased. It is also alleged that disposing of polythene packets and other plastic materials blocked the drainage system which hampered the free flow of the water.

According to a senior official of the BMC, they were unable to use the pump in full force to drain out the accumulated water as the water level in the Bagjola canal had increased. Had the pumps being put to its full strength then it could have resulted in a back-flush of the water. As a result the authority had to wait for the water level to recede before pumping out the accumulated water.

"Dumping of plastics is a major problem. Despite urging people not to throw garbage on the road, mainly plastic materials, people seem to be not cooperating. On Wednesday our workers dragged out a huge quantity of plastics from the drains and sewerage lines in order to clear the stagnant water," the senior official said.