KMC hires 286 portable pumps to flush out storm water from added areas
Kolkata: The KMC sewerage and drainage department has hired 286 portable pumps and kept them ready to save residents of added areas such as Behala, Garden Reach, the Tollygunge-Jadavpur belt, Garia and neighbourhoods off EM Bypass from waterlogging during the monsoon.
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The department already has 100 such pumps in its possession.
According to a civic official, though the sewerage and drainage department was ready to combat waterlogging in some of the waterlogging-prone pockets in the city proper, including Thanthania, Amherst Street, Sukeas Street, Bowbazar, MG Road, CR Avenue, Camac Street and Bhowanipore, the officials were not sure about the fate of the residents in added areas.
This is particularly concerning in parts of Behala, Tollygunge and areas off EM Bypass, where there is no underground drainage system and a drainage development project was yet to be completed.
"The drainage upgrade project under KEIIP is dragging too much, and there is no hope that we can give the residents relief this monsoon," said a KMC drainage department official.
"In such a situation, we have asked our officials in the boroughs to keep portable pumps ready and press them into service in case of a downpour," said a KMC drainage department official.
The first major drainage upgrade project for the city's drainage system was taken up by KMC under the Kolkata Environment Improvement Project (KEIP) in 2003. The majority of funds (Rs 1600 crore) from the Asian Development Bank-funded mega project were allocated to develop the drainage system in Behala. However, when the project ended after being delayed for years, the civic engineers found faults with the laying of pipes.
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Additionally, several low-lying areas bordering Joka and Maheshtala municipalities were left untouched.
This necessitated a second phase of the KEIP drainage upgrade project for Behala. Under the second phase, drainage development work is in progress in areas including Silpara, Sakuntala Park, Sakherbazar, Upen Banerjee Road and parts of James Long Sarani. This work has added to the waterlogging woes, conceded a KMC drainage department official.
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