Overnight rains lashed the city leaving people marooned as many waded through waist-deep water to reach offices overcoming the scarcity of public transport. Kolkata Municipal Corporation has opened the lock gates and hopes the city water will drain out.
Most areas in both North and South Kolkata went underwater as lock gates were kept shut during the day to prevent river water from gushing in triggering flood, felt Tarak Singh, KMC board member in charge of the drainage department. He said the lock gates were again opened at 3 pm but feared more rainfall as predicted by the Met department and can increase water level since the lock gates would be closed at night when the river will witness a high tide due to full moon today.
As per KMC data, Chetla received 112mm rainfall, Jodhpur Park 119 mm, Kalighat 127mm, Garia 88mm, Behala 102mm. KMC has started operating all pumping stations. and is on high alert over the likelihood of heavy rainfall. Lake Gardens is heavily waterlogged. Resident and Trinamul MP Saugata Roy today inspected the situation in the morning and said it is causing massive inconvenience as he had to cancel his day’s plans.
With heavy waterlogging, several shops in the city closed businesses and people had to look for other shops in the dreadful submerged streets. Many who opted for home delivery options were informed that delivery executives cannot enter the areas due to the water levels.
Meanwhile, Kolkata airport faced the fury of rains with severe waterlogging. Airport officials though informed that the runway remained unaffected, sources confirmed that flight operations were delayed due to waterlogging. Taking a dig at the Mamata government, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Choudhury said, the severe waterlogging in the metropolitan has caused massive inconvenience.
The city, which according to the state government must become like London, should answer why such a deplorable drainage system prevails. BJP state president Dilip Ghosh slammed KMC and the state government claiming water logging has become a perennial problem in Kolkata. No measures are being taken to improve the drainage system and which has again become apparent today, he alleged.
Kolkata airport has requested passengers to allow more time for their journey to the airport and check flight schedules with concerned airlines.