KMC starts desilt drive along Bypass hosp zone but flooding worries stay
Times of India | 22 May 2024
Kolkata: The civic body has launched a special disilting drive along large stretches of E M Bypass to try and spare residents the pain of waterlogging this monsoon. But civic officials as well as the local councillor are worried that the unfinished drainage upgrade project would translate into the usual inundation following a heavy spell of rain.
Roads along and off the Bypass are flooded after heavy spells of rain every monsoon, largely owing to damaged sewer lines and absence of underground drainage lines in the locality.A KMC sewerage and drainage department official said their drive was concentrated on places around hospitals, located from Mukundapur to New Garia on Bypass, and new metro stations of the New Garia-Airport route. “Our focus is to see to it water recedes from neighbourhoods off E M Bypass faster. We have also chosen areas around metro stations, from Hiland Park to the Beliaghata intersection on Bypass, to ensure flooding-free commute in the rains,” said the civic official.
But an official associated with the KMC sewer-cleaning gang pointed out since the drainage upgrade work in Mukundapur and Nayabad was still incomplete, there was no guarantee waterlogging could be checked. “The drainage upgrade project under KEIIP is still underway and a pumping station is not yet functional. A couple of outfall canals carrying storm water need to be dredged properly to stop flooding,” said the KMC official. Expressing similar concerns, Trinamool councillor Ananya Banerjee said on Tuesday, “The KEIIP work has been progressing at a snail’s pace. I don’t feel the residents would be spared waterlogging in the event of a downpour. Flooding around hospitals in Mukundapur is a matter of worry. I have asked the KMC drainage department to keep portable pumps ready to flush out storm water from low-lying areas.”
The KMC drainage department officials are also worried about damaged drainage lines on Bypass, especially around the new metro stations. “The metro station constructions damaged parts of our drainage network. We couldn’t even take up repairs. Now, we will take up the sewer rehabilitation work. But, till the reconstruction is completed, the respite will be only temporary,” said a department official.