Kolkata: Drainage not ready, Bypass belt faces flooding threat

KOLKATA: Sourav Bose, a senior citizen living in Mukundapur, has kept his fingers crossed, hoping to be able to keep his doctor's appointment at a private hospital off E M Bypass early next week. Last year, an appointment with the same doctor had to be cancelled as a downpour had flooded the hospital premises as well as Bose's neighbourhood.
"I could not make it to the hospital as the entire place was waterlogged.I could not step out of my house. This year is no different. A moderate bout of shower nine days ago had again flooded the road to the hospital. I don't know what will happen if it rains heavily early next week," said Bose.
Even a KMC drainage department official conceded the situation had not improved in the neighbourhoods located off Bypass, where an underground drainage system had still not been implemented. "We are concerned about patients who may face trouble reaching the private hospitals along EM Bypass owing to waterlogging. A drainage upgrade project for EM Bypass and adjacent neighbourhoods, taken up under KEIIP scheme, is yet to be completed. So, waterlogging is likely to continue in the area this year too, in case of heavy rain," said the official.
A KMC sewerage and drainage department said on Friday that portable pumps were being readied for waterlogging-prone areas along Bypass. "We are especially worried about residents of Mukundapur, Nayabad, Madurdaha, Anandapur, Kasba, Garfa and Purbachal. We have kept portable pumps ready in case of a heavy bout of rain as most of these places don't have an underground drainage system," said a KMC official.
The KMC will also need to arrange for portable pumps for low-lying areas of Behala, especially in places, where the drainage upgrade work under KEIIP scheme in under progress. "We need to focus on large parts of Barisha, including Silpara, Thakurtala, Kailash Ghosh Road and Vidyasagar Pally. Those places have been dug up for the drainage upgrade project under KEIIP. We will use portable pumps to flush out stormwater in heavy rain," said a civic official. The KMC will also need to be alert about Motilal Gupta Road and areas adjacent to Joka.