statesman news service
KOLKATA, 30 JUNE: Normal life in Kolkata and adjoining areas were disrupted as large parts of the city were heavily waterlogged following incessant rainfall.
Train services in some parts were also affected in the early hours today as the tracks were filled with water after continuous rainfall since late last night.
Mayor Sovan Chatterjee, who had assured before the monsoon began that there would be no water-logging in the city this year, claimed that the KMC did everything necessary to drain out the water as early as possible, but nothing can be done to avoid waterlogging when there is a heavy shower like today’s.
Large parts of the city remained waterlogged till the afternoon, though KMC officials claimed that accumulated water from many streets receded within a couple of hours.
The city received 89.5 mm rainfall in the 24 hours till 2.30 p.m. today. Commuters had to wade through waist-deep water in places. Park Circus, Chittaranjan Avenue, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Zakaria Street, Bidhan Sarani, College Street, Ballygunge, Mominpur, Kidderpore, Chetla, Jodhpur Park and Bhowanipore and Behala areas were badly hit. The underpasses at Patipukur and Dum Dum were also waterlogged.  Things would have been worse if it had not been Sunday.
The situation was worst in Behala due to the ongoing project for extension of Metro Railways. Silpara, Sakherbazar and Pora Ashoktala areas were under knee-deep water. KMC officials had a tough time as the level of water remained stagnant till 1 p.m. despite using pumps to drain it out. There were reports of road accidents in which two mini trucks overturned at Silpara.
Waterlogging occurred in many areas in the districts including Howrah, Hooghly, North and South 24-Parganas as well.
Senior civic officials had anticipated before the monsoon began that many area of the city including Lenin Sarani, A P C Roy Road, A J C Bose Road, Amherst Street, Sashibhusan Dey Street and Rabindra Sarani may face water-logging as sewer lines of A P C Roy Road, Lenin Sarani and A J C Bose Road converge at the key Palmar Bazar pumping station, known as town outfall, which has not been desilted and cleaned. The town outfall section is heavily silted and more than 50 per cent of its diameter is closed due to accumulated silt.
another report on page 13