The port trust has agreed to start shore protection work along the Hooghly, mayor Firhad Hakim said after a meeting with the port authorities on Wednesday that discussed the erosion of the riverbank in Calcutta.

The bank of the Hooghly in Calcutta has eroded in multiple places, with the river making deep inroads and almost reaching the land.

The riverbank at Nimtala Ghat, Ratan Babu Ghat and Ahiritola Ghat, and under Millennium Park has eroded, said an official of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation.

Hakim said officials of Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port (earlier known as Kolkata Port Trust) informed the civic body at the meeting that they had hired a team from IIT Kharagpur to study the erosion.

The shore protection work will start after the IIT team submits its report.

“The port authorities have promised to take up the shore protection work. They have engaged IIT Kharagpur to study the erosion of the riverbank. The work will start after the IIT submits its report,” said Hakim, who chaired the meeting.

Port trust chairperson Rathendra Raman was among those who attended the meeting. “Chunks of land have eroded at Nimtala Ghat. The soil under Ma-er ghat has been washed away in many places,” Hakim said.

An official at Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port told Metro that they would work on a 1.1km stretch of the river. “We will work on a 1.1km stretch in the Jorabagan area that will include places like Nimtala Ghat,” the official said.

A walk on a small stretch along the Hooghly between Bagbazar and Burrabazar earlier this month threw up images of trees leaning into the river as the soil had been washed away and concrete walls submerged as the river had made deep inroads into the bank.

This newspaper reported in November 2023 that the owners of warehouses along the riverbank and residents, many of them living in shanties, have dumped concrete waste, sacks filled with bricks and other waste along the bank to keep the river at bay.

The meeting also discussed pending tax disputes, removal of encroachments from the port land, setting up of drainage facilities in the port area, construction of an underground tunnel across the Hooghly and repair of roads.

Hakim said the civic body requested the port authorities to set up multi-level car parking facilities along Strand Road as parking is a headache for visitors to the area.

The strengthening and repair of the Howrah bridge also came up for discussion.

“The port authorities have promised to repair more than 30 roads maintained by them by April 2025,” said a KMC official.

A 500m walkway near Farlie Ghat, which has been closed since 2021, was another topic of discussion. “The KMC requested us to open the walkway. We will possibly open it for two hours in the morning and again for two hours in the evening,” said the port trust official.