Mayor Firhad Hakim on Saturday asked for more accurate waterlogging reports from officials of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC).
He also dissuaded the mayoral council member in charge of drainage, Tarak Singh, from resigning.
Singh had offered to resign on Friday after Hakim said Singh sends him reports of “no waterlogging” every day.
Hakim said he went to his aunt’s place on Thursday and found the area was inundated and water had gone into his aunt’s home. Hakim, who spoke his mind during the weekly phone-in programme Talk to Mayor, did not specify whether Singh, who is in charge of the drainage department of the KMC, sent him any “no waterlogging” report on Thursday, too.
Several parts of the city were waterlogged following a sharp shower spell on Thursday, like they were on Saturday.
On Saturday, Hakim told The Telegraph that he had spoken to Singh.
“I told him that my outburst was not directed at him. It was against the system. While I am being told there is no waterlogging in the city, the reality is different,” he said.
“When I called him, Tarak da told me he was hurt at what I said. I repeated that my comments were not against him. He was convinced,” Hakim added.
The mayor had called Singh once on Friday night and again on Saturday.
Singh told this newspaper on Saturday that he conveyed to the mayor his hurt. “The mayor told me that he was happy with the way the drainage department is working. I am not putting in my papers,” he said.
“We have desilted so many sewer lines. There was intense rain on Saturday, yet water could be drained out of most roads within a few hours,” Singh said.
Hakim, however, wanted the officials to send him more accurate reports.
“I have told officials that they must attach pictures of a place when they say the road is free of waterlogging. Usually, three hours following intense rain is allowed for the water to be drained out from a street. If there is water on a road after three hours, then we identify that as waterlogging,” Hakim said.
KMC sources said waterlogging reports were prepared based on feedback from local police and the KMC’s engineers. An official said the KMC control room also gets feed from CCTVs installed by police along important roads and crossings.
“We get to see the CCTV pictures. Police send us reports of waterlogging from places not covered by CCTV cameras. Besides, our engineers in the boroughs also send reports,” he said.
A report is then prepared along with the name of the road. There are three columns against the name of each road that say whether there is ankle-deep, above ankle-deep or knee-deep water on a road.
“We will attach pictures with reports if the mayor wants so,” said an official.