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Time of India
a day ago
- Climate
- Time of India
Dry window puts Kolkata road repairs on fast-forward mode
1 2 3 4 Kolkata: Two days of dry spell prompted the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) to wrap up the repairs of roads that developed craters due to incessant rain. According to a KMC roads department official, the drive's primary focus was on major thoroughfares that developed potholes following heavy waterlogging. Several stretches on EM Bypass that were in deplorable condition were also repaired. The KMC roads department also took up repair of one of the worst-hit roads off EM Bypass (opposite Science City). This road is now being repaved with concrete blocks to prevent seepage of water. Mayor Firhad Hakim, during one of his recent visits to this area, had asked the KMC roads department to take up the repair of this stretch with paver blocks. "We have completed half of the repair job. If it doesn't rain, we will conduct a special night drive and wrap up the repair in three more days," said a KMC roads department official. According to a KMC official, the civic body's roads department has also paid attention to north and central Kolkata roads, including Kankurgachhi, Maniktala, MG Road, APC Roy Road, Beliaghata Main Road, Chittaranjan Avenue, Beodon Street, and Lenin Sarani (Subodh Mullick Square), among others. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata | Gold Rates Today in Kolkata | Silver Rates Today in Kolkata However, the fate of roads in the port region, which also need immediate repair, is yet to be decided. The civic brass wants the Kolkata port authorities either to take up the repair or release necessary funds for the KMC to carry out the repairs. "We know that the condition of Coal Berth Road, Circular Garden Reach Road, and Paharpur Road, which fall under the jurisdiction of KoPT, is deplorable. But we can't take up the repair of these roads till the matter is sorted out between the KoPT and the KMC authorities," said a civic official. Similarly, the roads in large parts of Behala that have been dug up for a drainage upgrade project under KEIIP are not a part of this special repair drive, said a civic official. Behala residents have been complaining against inaction over road repairs. "We can't assure them that the battered roads will be repaired till the project is over. Let the KEIIP authority complete the drainage project and hand over the roads to us," said a KMC roads department senior official. Some of these affected areas include Motilal Gupta Road, MG Road, Kalipada Mukherjee Road, Biren Roy Road (West), and parts of Diamond Harbour Road. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.
Time of India
11-08-2025
- Climate
- Time of India
Drainage overhaul in Behala, Joka & EM Bypass areas
1 2 Kolkata: The KMC will spend Rs 2,100 crore to build drainage infrastructure in large parts of the city over the next seven years. The primary focus will be on the non-sewer areas where residents face severe waterlogging and endure the inconvenience of being inundated for days after a downpour every monsoon. Mayor Firhad Hakim on Monday held a meeting with senior KMC officials and later declared that the Asian Development Bank had agreed to release two-thirds of the amount needed for the drainage overhaul. The rest will be borne by the state govt and the KMC. According to a KMC official, the civic body will undertake the drainage overhaul of several neighbourhoods located off EM Bypass, including Hossainpur (Madurdaha) and Nayabad, which fall under two wards (ward 108 and 109). These areas do not have underground sewer lines and hence get waterlogged after even a spell of moderate rain. Besides utilising the services of officials employed under the Kolkata Environment and Infrastructure Improvement Project (KEIIP), KMC senior officials will also be involved to ensure the project is completed on time and without hassles. Additionally, The funds from the donor agency will be used for laying underground sewer lines in the entire Joka belt and parts of Behala, including Shakuntala Park and Sarsuna satellite township. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Remember Him? Sit Down Before You See What He Looks Like Now 33 Bridges Undo Residents of these areas have been demanding a better sewerage network for several years. "We appreciate that the residents of several parts of Behala and Joka have reasons to feel worried as they bear the brunt of waterlogging every monsoon due to a poor drainage network. Now we will have an opportunity to offer them solace as we are preparing to lay underground sewer lines in these worst waterlogging pockets," said a KMC official. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata According to a KMC source, besides laying underground sewer lines, the civic body will need to construct several drainage pumping stations to address the waterlogging issues in the areas selected for the drainage overhaul project. "We will construct three major drainage pumping stations for the residents of large parts of Joka, Behala, and EM Bypass," said a civic official. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.
Time of India
18-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
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. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now 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. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now 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.
Time of India
16-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
Mayor's July deadline for Behala drainage work
Kolkata: Mayor Firhad Hakim on Friday set a July deadline for Kolkata Environment and Infrastructure Improvement (KEIIP) to wrap up the Behala drainage development project. During the 'Talk to Mayor' interaction on Friday, where a Sakherbajar resident urged the mayor to take corrective measures before the monsoon, Hakim expressed dissatisfaction over the delay in completing the upgrade work. A spell of heavy showers lays bare the sorry state of the drainage system in Behala. Large parts of Behala get inundated after every downpour. The familiar scenes of people wading through knee-deep water has made residents of Behala keep their fingers crossed before the onset of monsoon. According to Behala residents, the drainage modernization project has been dragging on endlessly with no signs of improvement in the waterlogging scenario. According to a KMC official, the worst sufferers have been the residents of Motilal Gupta Road, MG Road and Shakuntala Park, among other areas. The first major drainage upgrade project for the city's drainage system was taken up by the KMC under KEIP in 2003. A majority of funds (Rs 1600 crore) of the Asian Development Bank-funded mega project was allocated to develop the drainage system in Behala. However, when the project ended after getting delayed for years, the civic engineers found fault with the laying of pipes to convert open drains into underground ones. This apart, several low-lying areas bordering Joka and Mahestala municipalities were left untouched. That necessitated a second phase of the KEIP drainage upgrade project for Behala. Under the second phase, large drainage development work is under progress in areas including Silpara, Shakuntala Park, Sakherbazar, Upen Banerjee Road and parts of James Long Sarani. This ongoing work has added to the waterlogging woes in Behala, conceded a KMC drainage department official.
Time of India
12-05-2025
- Time of India
Setback for KMC's water meter plan as 85 devices go missing from S Kol
1 2 Kolkata: Altogether 85 water meters installed under the Kolkata Environmental Improvement Investment Programme (KEIIP) were reported missing from residential areas in south Kolkata's Patli-Baisnabghata area during a month-long audit. This has prompted the KEIIP-appointed company to file a complaint with the Patuli missing meters were discovered during routine readings in wards 101, 102, 107, 108, and 110 of the Anandapur-Patuli service zone. These meters, which are the property of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), were installed as part of a performance-based contract for the ongoing water loss management project."Our representatives conduct monthly visits to record water usage patterns , and during recent inspections, they noticed meters missing from several households," the complaint states. The exact number of missing meters has not been disclosed, but the company has provided authorities with detailed addresses of affected properties, with police claiming around 85 such premises have already been identified by them."Water meters were installed in most of the houses under the Patuli PS area, and every month our representatives visit all the houses to take meter readings to count the water use pattern. At that time, our representatives found that the water meters are missing in a few installed water meters are the property of KMC. We have attached addresses and other details where we found that water meters are missing," the complaint said. KMC officials emphasised that tampering with or removing these meters is illegal as they are municipal property. "We take these incidents seriously as they hamper our water management efforts and result in financial losses to the corporation," said a senior KMC official. "Residents with information about the missing meters are urged to contact their local police station or KMC or KEIIP officials," said a police to KMC sources, around 1,000 water meters installed in neighbourhoods located off EM Bypass and the Tollygunge-Jadavpur belt were stolen in the past year. According to a KMC water supply department official, 9,500 meters have been installed in areas such as Patuli, Anandapur, Kasba, and other areas located off EM Bypass under KEIIP since early to KEIIP sources, the installation of water meters was underway in areas such as vast areas off EM Bypass under a special project. The KEIIP completed the installation of around 9,500 meters in these areas that broadly fall under four KMC wards (Wards 101, 102, 107, and 110). A KMC official expressed concern over the rapid theft of such expensive meters, each of which costs between Rs 2,200 and Rs 3,500. According to the KEIIP official, while over 600 water meters were stolen from Patuli alone, the remaining meters were found missing from Anandapur, Kasba, and some areas under Jadavpur police Firhad Hakim has also flagged concern about the theft time and again and asked the senior KMC officials to keep a tab on the safety of the water meters that have been installed to determine the water consumption pattern of households in several neighbourhoods where projects are being taken to augment potable water to households to end a longstanding crisis."It is true that we need to install water meters in several parts of the city to assess the water consumption pattern and accordingly plan to bridge the gap in the supply line. An area-wise survey has revealed that while residents in some neighbourhoods have access to excess drinking water and thus tend to get engaged in colossal wastage, others suffer from scarcity of water. But the frequent theft of water meters has posed a challenge to the KEIIP survey," said Hakim. A section of the KMC officials also expressed concern over owners of households destroying such meters for they suspected that the KMC would charge for the supply of water.
