Blocked gully pits lead to waterlogging in parts of Kolkata after showers
Telegraph | 24 March 2026
A spell of rain over the last week exposed the choked gully pits along Calcutta’s roads, leading to waterlogging along the edges of the roads in many places.
On Saturday morning, stretches along the edges of Bentinck Street were waterlogged. It did not rain heavily enough to result in waterlogging, but unclean and jammed gully pit covers led to the waterlogging, said residents of the area.
Earlier on Wednesday, Metro found jammed gully pit covers in Jadavpur and Salt Lake. The area around the gully pits was also waterlogged.
Gully pits are present along roads, allowing rainwater to flow into the underground sewer lines through their covers. If the gully pits are clean and the covers do not have any blocks on them, such as plastic bags, paper cups or leaves, the rainwater recedes faster from the road.
Travelling across the city, this newspaper found silted gully pit covers in several places. These covers can block the passage of water and appear not to have been cleaned for weeks or even months.
In other places, plastic and layers of fallen leaves have accumulated near the gully pits.
Rain accompanied by Nor’westers is usual around this time of the year.
Besides, moisture incursion from the Bay of Bengal is contributing to rainfall in the city. The Met office has also forecast more rain in Calcutta over the next weekend, along with gusts of wind reaching up to 40km an hour.
“If the gully pit covers are not cleaned by then, more roads will be waterlogged,” said a south Calcutta resident.
An official of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) said a stretch of Amherst Street, near Amherst Street police station, was waterlogged on Saturday morning.
“The edge of the road was waterlogged. We sent a team that declogged the gully pit cover, and the water receded,” said the official.
KMC sources said that though they conduct sewer cleaning and gully pit cleaning work around the year, the intensity picks up ahead of the monsoon.
“Rain at an unexpected time of the year creates problems,” said the official.
KMC officials said gully pits get choked frequently, also because people tend to
use them as sites of waste
disposal.
“People often throw daily waste over gully pit covers, even though waste collectors visit the neighbourhood every morning. This waste can block the openings of the covers. Food hawkers and some restaurant staff also dump waste into the gully pits. These actions frequently cause blockages,” said the official.