Action was taken within two days of The Telegraph Salt Lake reporting about the Sector I plots with water accumulating (“Stagnant water turns mosquito pool in Sector I,” published on February 7).

“Workers came and pumped out water early on February 9,” said an employee of a furniture store next door to AC 6, where water had been gathering for a month.

A grab of the article published on February 7.

At AC 6, water was pumped out on February 9. The plot has little water now.

At the other plot, AD 190, things got moving on February 10. “The lessee sent men and machines to pump out the water from the plot,” said Namrata Basak, who lives opposite the plot. “I spoke to the workers and they said they are taking action after the issue was splashed in the newspaper.”

But at both sites, neighbours said ground water was rising and again filling up the low-lying plots. “We were scared that the problem would recur but then the AD Block plot lessees conducted a bheet puja within days. They are filling the land with sand and soil now and hopefully that will be a permanent solution,” said Basak.

The empty plot at AD 190 being filled with sand, as seen on February 19

How the plot with stagnant water looked before the article was published on February 7

The lessees of the plots could not be contacted but councillor Anindya Chatterjee said he had spoken to them. “I have regularly been sending workers to spray larvicide at these spots but pumping out water is not the job of the councillor. It is the responsibly of the lessee to ensure there is no water stagnating, that no work is carried out at night to disturb neighbours etc,” he said.

“I’ve spoken to the owners of the plots and asked them to take immediate action. But often it happens that lessees are out of the country and not reachable. We are helpless in such cases,” Chatterjee added.