The spell of rain on Tuesday forenoon caused waterlogging in several parts of the city, officials of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) said.
The water, however, receded within a few hours because of two reasons — the water level in the Hooghly was not high enough even during high tide to force closure of the gates of the drainage channels that open into the river and removal of garbage from gully pits.
Civic officials said parts of Ballygunge, Patuli, Jodhpur Park and Southern Avenue received over 30mm of rain, while areas around Ultadanga, Paikpara and Belgachhia received between 11mm and 8mm of rain.
Early in the afternoon, stretches of Swinhoe Street, Outram Road, Park Street, Kasba, Ekbalpore and EM Bypass were under ankle-deep water. Traffic moved slowly through these areas.
Officials of the KMC’s drainage department rushed teams to clear some of the gully pits of plastic and other garbage so water could drain out fast.
Waterlogged stretches in Ballygunge
The pockets in north and central Kolkata that are known for waterlogging, including the Patipukur railway underpass, Maniktala, Girish Park and Thantania were spared the ordeal, said an official in the KMC’s drainage department.
“Some parts of Mahatma Gandhi Road and Chittaranjan Avenue were flooded but the water drained out fast,” said an official.
Officials at Kolkata Port Trust said the water level of the Hooghly did not touch the 4-metre mark at the peak of high tide on Tuesday morning. As a result the sluice gates of the drainage channels that open into the river could be left open, aiding in fast draining out of the accumulated rainwater.
Kasba on Tuesday afternoon
“At Garden Reach, the water level rose to 3.69 metres during high tide on Tuesday morning. At 2pm, the height of the tide was 2.08 metres,” said a port trust official.
“The sluice gates need not be shut if the water level remains below 5 metres. The gates need to be closed once the level crosses 5 metres to prevent Hooghly water from entering the drainage network,” the official said.
“We will be keeping a close watch on the weather over the next two days so that emergency intervention and evacuation can be carried out with the civic authorities,” said an officer at Lalbazar, where a Unified Command Centre has been set up with representatives of the KMC and various government departments to deal with any eventualities.
Each of the nine divisions of the Kolkata police has set up a control room where a team of 10 personnel is stationed.