The Kolkata Municipal Corporation on Wednesday showed what it can do when it really wants to get water out of a flooded neighbourhood.
The civic body deployed multiple machines and scores of men who supplemented the efforts manually in Bhowanipore, where several pockets got inundated following the rain overnight.
A KMC engineer said that their mandate was to ensure that all roads were clear of water before the byelection in the Bhowanipore Assembly constituency on Thursday.
“Waterlogged roads may dissuade people from coming to vote,” said an engineer.
KMC machines drain out water from a road in Bhowanipore, near Elgin Road, on Wednesday. Bishwarup Dutta
Four blowback machines of 16,000-litre capacity were deployed in and around Dr Sudhir Bose Road in Kidderpore that comes under the Bhowanipore constituency.
The machines suck water out from flooded areas that have poor drainage. The machines were taken to the Tolly’s Nullah where they discharged the water and returned to suck more water out from the pocket. Twelve gully pit emptiers of 5,000-litre capacity each and seven suction machines of 5,000-litre capacity each were also deployed.
Gully pit emptier machines clear blocks in gully pits that allow faster flow of water down the drain. Suction machines were also used to suck water out from pockets with localised waterlogging issues.
Besides Kidderpore, waterlogging was reported from parts of Elgin Road and Dr Rajendra Road, Justice Chandra Madhab Road, Justice Dwarakanath Road, Heysham Road and Northern Park in Bhowanipore.
A KMC engineer said there was ankle-deep water in Dr Sudhir Bose Road on Wednesday morning. Suction machines, gully pit emptiers, blowback machines and several portable pumps were deployed.
“The portable pumps will remain stationed in the waterlogging-prone pockets on Thursday,” said an engineer.
Groups of personnel were also deployed to open the manholes and ensure that water drained out fast.
The underground drainage system of almost the entire area under the Bhowanipore constituency is British-built.
While many of the brick sewers have been desilted, there are some others that require desilting for water to flow quickly through the lines.