A few hours of rainfall led to massive waterlogging in different parts of Kolkata on Monday, despite tall claims by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) that the city will not be waterlogged as several developmental projects have been undertaken by the civic body to drain out rainwater.

According to a drainage department official, 46 mm rain was recorded in Mominpur in an hour leading to several areas going under knee-deep water. On Alipore Park Road in south Kolkata, the situation was worse and the heavy waterlogging caused severe traffic snarls in the evening.

“The entire stretch is waterlogged. We cannot even divert traffic. Traffic movement is very slow and water is not receding. Every year, we face difficulty in managing traffic in this stretch,” said a traffic sergeant on Alipore Park Road.

“I have been waiting here for the last half-an-hour. The traffic is not moving a bit. Moreover, the drain water has increased to such a level that water is seeping into my car. If this happens during early monsoon, we cannot even imagine what we have to face when the monsoon will be at its peak,” said Arindam Biswas, who got stuck in the jam.

The official of the drainage department said several areas, including Alipore, Chetla, Rashbehari and Kalighat, are under Borough IX, where water is likely to remain stagnant and the KMC can do nothing about it. “These are areas which will remain waterlogged for a few hours. The average rainfall in south Kolkata today was 40 mm per hour. With this rainfall, it will take at least six hours to get the roads cleared. We carried out desilting in all these places,” said Amit Roy, head of the drainage department of KMC.

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