Plastic waste adds to drainage struggle

Kolkata: Mayor Firhad Hakim was spotted unclogging a gully pit in his neighbourhood in Chetla on Tuesday morning, dragging out plastic waste with the tip of an umbrella. The thin plastic packets pulled out of the choked drain revealed the reality: indiscriminate littering is as much to blame for Kolkata's flooding as the record-breaking rainfall, along with the high tide in the Hooghly.Hakim pointed out garbage dumped on streets was one of the chief causes for waterlogging. Thinner plastics—especially flimsy carry bags—have become one of the culprits behind Kolkata's waterlogging story. Swept by rain and wind, these bags clog the ageing drainage network of canals, sewers and open drains. Once inside, they choke the storm water flow. In markets and commercial zones, indiscriminate dumping of plastic made the scene worse, said Dipankar Sinha, former DG, Town Planning, KMC.Despite repeated govt bans, thin plastic bags remains ubiquitous. The permissible bag thickness was raised from 50 microns to 75 microns in 2021, and further to 120 microns in 2023. Yet enforcement remained patchy, and cheap single-use bags continued to circulate. Studies showed plastics form an ever-increasing proportion of Kolkata's municipal waste, said green-crusader Subhas Datta.Even the city's pumping stations, designed to clear massive volumes of water, are crippled by plastics. The material often bypasses protective screens and jams machinery, leading to pump failures. With the city sitting on a low-lying deltaic plain, where water drains slowly, plastic waste magnified the problem, said an official.Kolkata's plight reflects a broader climate emergency. The city saw a surge in extreme rainfall events that overwhelm its colonial-era drainage. Scientists warned climate change was intensifying such extreme events, making urban flooding more frequent. But when plastic choked every stage of drainage, the city's ability to adapt was crippled, said an official.Experts said fighting floods in Kolkata demanded aggressive enforcement of plastic bans, stopping littering, and investment in sustainable waste management.