KMC control room linked with Kol Police for smarter surveillance of city’s waterlogging pockets
Kolkata: Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has connected its integrated control room with that of Kolkata Police for further strengthening of urban flooding data so that immediate interventions can be made for prompt drainage of accumulated water.
“The Kolkata Police has an array of CCTV networks in its control room which helps it particularly in effective and efficient management of traffic in the city. We have connected our integrated state-of-the-art control room with this network that helps us to identify specific catchment areas of waterlogging, in case there is a smart shower in the city. Once we know the location, we make immediate interventions for quick draining of the accumulated water,” Binod Kumar, KMC Commissioner said while addressing ‘Elets National Emerging Technology Summit’ on Thursday.
Right from the British period, the accumulated water in the city during monsoon is channelised into the river which surrounds Kolkata. However, during high tide, that water cannot pass with the lockgates remaining closed. The infrastructure was designed with the capacity of draining out 6 mm of water per hour. But rainfall has been erratic in recent times and there have been occasions when 100 mm rain has occurred in an hour. Our IOT based sensor at each of the pumping stations across the city provides us a feedback of rainfall and accordingly pumps are made functional for draining out water,” Kumar added.
Speaking at the event, Rajeev Kumar, Principal Secretary of the state Information Technology and Electronics Department called for identification of key areas where emerging technologies can be applied assessing the risks and benefits of their implementation. “New technology should be selective for effective governance,” he added.
Narayan Swaroop Nigam, Principal Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare, touched upon various recent initiatives of the department like Swastha Ingit (telemedicine services) that have been initiated leveraging emerging technologies.
