Kolkata: Several low-lying pockets of the city were inundated following incessant rain through the intervening night of Sunday and Monday. But many citizens, who stepped out of their homes on Monday morning, were also surprised and relieved to find that the water level had subsided in their areas, which had a history of waterlogging following heavy spells of shower.
According to the Met office data, Kolkata received 189.6 mm of rainfall in the 24-hour period between Monday and Tuesday evenings. The data collated from the civic drainage pumping stations showed the city received an average of 150 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours, one of the highest in recent years. Some areas in south Kolkata received over 200 mm rainfall during the same period, leading to waterlogging.
The Ballygunge drainage pumping station recorded the highest rainfall in 24 hours (264 mm), followed by CPT canal near Taratala (206 mm) and Behala Flying Club (204 mm). The KMC figures showed south Kolkata received more rain than that in north. Only Palmer Bazar in east Kolkata’s Beliaghata (122.4 mm) and central Kolkata’s Thanthania (153.4 mm) received higher rainfall.
The KMC drainage department struggled to flush out storm water from large parts of north, central and south Kolkata due to the presence of a high tide in the Hooghly. “Twice, we had to close the lock gates along the Hooghly due to the presence of a high tide. First, we closed these gates from Monday midnight till dawn. Then again, we needed to close the gates from 4 pm to 6.30 pm due to the presence of the tide. As a result, large parts of the city, including BBD Bag, College Street, Bowbazar, Camac Street, Theatre Road, Chittaranjan Avenue and MG Road, remained flooded for longer hours,” said MMiC overseeing the KMC sewerage and drainage department Tarak Singh. Civic officials said water should recede by Tuesday morning.
The KMC drainage department quick response team and officials at the major drainage pumping stations worked overnight to flush out storm water from the most-affected pockets. KMC and KEIIP officials had kept portable pumps ready to flush out storm water from the low-lying and non-sewer areas.
Several roads had to be blocked to traffic owing to waterlogging and uprooting of a large number of trees. The disaster management group and Kolkata Traffic Police personnel cut 40-odd trees between Monday midnight and 7 am to clear the roads.
Reports of uprooting of trees were received from Southern Avenue, Lake Place, Chetla, D L Khan Road, Dufferin Road, Ballygunge Road, New Alipore, Behala, Jadavpur, Golpark, Hatibagan, Jagat Mukherjee Park and College Street, as well as the city’s adjoining Salt Lake area, officials said.
Overnight heavy rain also led to the collapse of parts of some insecure buildings in the city. “Collapse of small portions of old and insecure buildings was reported from 10 places in the city,” said a KMC buildings department official.