Revamped infra helps KMC rid city from waterlogging speedily

Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation's (KMC) constant efforts in overhauling the drainage infrastructure in the city is paying dividends with most of the accumulated water being drained out from the roads, lanes and bylanes in the city by Tuesday late afternoon, a day after the city experienced a record 150 mm rainfall on Monday—the highest in the past 13 years.

"The Drainage department in the last two three years have developed the infrastructure to drain out water upto 15 mm rain in an hour up from 6 mm. We undertake desiliting work regularly and have procured modern machineries also. Presently we have 144 manhole desilting machines," Member Board of Administrators, in-charge of Drainage department Tarak Singh said.

The rain water is channelized through a special drainage line that flows westwards and is dumped in the river through lockgates by running pumps. If there is heavy rain during high tide, the lcokgates remain closed, water accumulates and after nearly four hours when they are opened the water drains out.

There were several places in the city that recorded an average of 150 mm rainfall through out Monday. However, before

the lockgates were closed at 11.30 am, water was drained out from major parts of the city. All the 76 pumping stations and over 400 pumps worked in tandem.

The few thoroughfares that had waterlogging till Tuesday afternoon were Muktaram Babu Street, Mukundapur Main Road, parts of Behala, New Alipore, Lake Gardens, Kidderpore, Paharpur Road and a part of Taratala. "This water will also get drained out as the lockgates have been opened at 4 pm," a senior official of the Drainage department said.

Singh said that situations will further improve with the state government taking up dredging of 27 canals in Kolkata and its adjacent areas. "Our Chairman Board of Administrators Firhad Hakim has taken up this issue at the Chief Secretary level and all decks have been cleared," he added.