Pockets of central Kolkata, especially the stretches along kerbs, were inundated on Wednesday afternoon following an intense spell of rain.
A stretch of the northern footpath along SN Banerjee Road was waterlogged, forcing pedestrians to either wade through the water or step down on the road.
But the edges of the road, both on the northern and southern flanks, were waterlogged, too, leaving them with no other option but to walk through the middle of the busy thoroughfare or cross over to the footpath on the other side.
“I was walking through the middle of the road and came almost face to face with cars and two-wheelers,” said a man, recounting his experience of negotiating SN Banerjee Road soon after the rain stopped.
The Belgachhia drainage pumping station of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) recorded 21mm of rain between 1pm and 2pm. The stations in Maniktala and Thanthania recorded 13mm and 20.4mm, respectively, during the period.
Among the flooded stretches in central Kolkata is the eastern edge of JL Nehru Road, near its intersection with Lenin Sarani.
Besides, puddles formed on several roads because of undulations. Water splashed on pedestrians as cars moved through the puddles.
Police officers said sections of Lalbazar Street, BB Ganguly Street (near its intersection with Phears Lane), the edge of SP Mukherjee Road near the Exide crossing and a part of MG Road near its intersection with CR Avenue were waterlogged, too.
Traffic sergeants stood on a waterlogged MG Road to manage traffic.
“Traffic along CR Avenue slowed down because of the waterlogged stretch of MG Road. Buses and cars moved slowly through MG Road and that affected the traffic on CR Avenue, too,” the officer said.
A KMC engineer said edges of many roads were waterlogged because it had rained heavily within a short time. “The underground drains have a limited capacity. The edges got flooded because it rained more than the capacity. The water receded fast,” he said.
The official, however, partly blamed the waterlogging on choked gully pits.