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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.
