Kolkata: Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has put the executive engineers manning the KMC drainage pumping stations on alert after the scattered rainfall. According to a KMC drainage dept official, the civic brass wants officials to begin the monsoon preparedness well in advance, keeping in mind the ongoing poll preparedness. “We have been asked to take adequate measures to prevent waterlogging in the event of heavy showers till the poll results are out. Then the same measures will continue to prevent inundation of areas during monsoon,” said a KMC senior official. According to the official, apart from making sure that all heavy-duty pumps at major drainage pumping stations are operational, deployment will be made to man lock gates along the Hooghly effectively in the event of a downpour. This apart, the civic body’s drainage wing will engage a special sewer-cleaning gang at some of the city’s waterlogging-prone areas to take care of the clogged sewer lines to give relief to residents of these areas from inundation for long hours. Also, the civic body is likely to hire portable pumps for the city’s low-lying and non-sewer areas to pump out storm water.
