Nor’wester catches KMC off guard, leaves city pockets waterlogged

Kolkata: Large parts of the city were waterlogged on Wednesday evening following intense nor'wester rain. Several drainage pumping stations run by KMC recorded a sharp rise in the water in the evening, resulting in inundation of areas for a couple of hours. Some of the worst-affected areas were Dum Dum, Belgachhia, Bidhan Sarani, Amherst Street, Muktarambabu Street, Thanthania, Marcus Square, College Street, BB Ganguly Street, Golf Green, Dhakuria, Sarat Bose Road, Park Circus, New Alipore, Mominpore, Behala, Taratala, Shakuntala Park, Joka, and parts of the Tollygunge-Jadavpur belt.According to a KMC official, though the civic body's drainage pumping stations were not ready for an untimely intense rain, an alert from the headquarters compelled officials at these pumping stations to press pumps into service. "We were particularly worried about the waterlogging-prone areas and, in less than half an hour, we asked our officials at the drainage pumping stations to operate heavy-duty pumps after the downpour. The stormwater receded at faster after the pumps were operated," said a KMC official. In addition, a drainage desilting drive helped the drainage department, the civic official said.However, a drainage department official conceded they were caught off guard as an intense rain lashed several parts of the city in a short span. "We recorded 35.4 mm rainfall in an hour in the Kudghat-Tollygunge belt, the Dum Dum-Belgachhia belt recorded 28 mm, and Palmer Bazar drainage pumping station, which takes care of waterlogging woes of large parts of north and central Kolkata, including Amherst Street, Thanthania, College Street, and BB Ganguly Street, recorded 30 mm rainfall in an hour."Taking a lesson from the unexpected, untimely rain, we have decided to strengthen our network so that next time, we can be prepared to prevent waterlogging," an official said. KMC has installed portable pumps in Amhert Street and Thanthania, and plans to set up more in some of the other waterlogging-prone pockets, like Bidhan Sarani, Golf Green, Jodhpur Park, Behala, and areas off E M Bypass, .