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In An Exclusive Interview With Mr B R Bhattacharyya Says 'No water-logging in Kolkata'

By ugesh sarkar, Section Water
Posted on Wed Jun 11, 2008 at 02:52:14 AM EST

Just ahead of the monsoons, city mayor Mr Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya spoke about the pre-monsoon preparations that the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has taken. Below are the excerpts of an interview with him:

How prepared is the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) to tackle this year's monsoon?
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) within its available infrastructure is better prepared this year. It has already taken several measures to discharge rain water and if we can implement such plans properly then it will tackling water-logging effectively.
We are also carrying out work on the augmentation of our pumping stations.

Will there be any improvements in areas like Behala, Ultadanga and Thanthania this year?
Some visible improvements are expected to be seen in these areas, particularly in Ultadanga, where a new pumping station has been put into operation.
Improvements are also expected in Behala where sufficient sewerage re-laying work under the Kolkata Environment Improvement Project (KEIP) has been completed. In these areas we have been able to connect the sewer systems with the outfall canals of the area.

Does KMC blame anyone for water-logging in the city? Does it seek people's help in this regard?
The very idea that there will be no water-logging in the city is Utopian. We should rather try to reduce incidents of water-logging and its duration. However, all such attempts are dependent on the intensity of the rainfall.
We also seek active participation from the people to keep the city sewerage system free from choking. Usage of plastics needs to be reduced if not stopped completely.

Click On "Full Story" For Read This Interview....

Is there any permanent remedy to water-logging?
If you ask me then there is no permanent remedy to the problem of water-logging in the city. However, the civic body has already undertaken a Rs 9,600 crore Kolkata Master Plan for improving and upgrading the city's sewerage and drainage system.
However, we still cannot guarantee that Kolkata will not be water logged.
The entire issue of water-logging in the city is dependent on the rainfall that the city experiences. Over the last two years, the average amount of rainfall that the city experienced is over 2,000 millimeters. While average rainfall earlier was 1,600 millimeters. In a such circumstances, water-logging looks inevitable.

How far has the KMC been successful in tackling water-logging related issues over the past few years? People feel that previous mayors were more successful in handling these problems of water-logging?
The term "successful" here is relative. When rainfall is low, around 1500 to 1600 millimeters, effects are visible. But we are blamed, despite having a better infrastructure, since the rainfall we have experienced over the last few years have been very heavy.
We have already started work on the multi crore Kolkata Master Plan. We have even started micro-tunnelling work on our underground sewer systems. All these were previously unheard of by my predecessors.

Source: Statesman News service 11/Jun/2008

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