Kolkata: Mayor Firhad Hakim expressed his optimism that with the measures being taken for revamping the drainage system will help drain water out in a span of five to six hours in all the wards of KMC. The Mayors assertion came in the wake of Left councilor Ratna Roy Majumder bringing an adjournment proposal in the civic body claiming that parts of Behala, a few pockets of North Kolkata, Kidderpore and Garia remaining waterlogged for two or three days after heavy rainfall lashed the city on August 16. "The pumping station facilities of KMC is capable of draining water when it rains 6 mm in an hour. But on Friday rainfall was abnormally high and in areas like Behala there was 183 mm rain in a span of six hours. So there was water accumulation through out the city. "In 98 percent of the areas water drained out within five to six hours after the rain stopped. There were 2 percent of the areas which includes parts of Behala and Kolkata Port where water took longer time to drain. The facilities of drainage infrastructure in these low lying pockets that is being undertaken by Kolkata Environmental Improvement Investment Program (KEIIP) entail huge investment and we are depending on funds from ADB. There has been instances when work has delayed due to such handing over of work order," Hakim said adding that things have been set in order and hopefully within two years the problem will be solved. There are four canals in Behala through which water drains out but they have been clogged. The work for desilting of the canals will take time while in Kabitirtha area the work for a new pumping station has been taken up. "The state government has allocated Rs 400 crore for the project," Hakim added. Belquis Begum councilor of ward 75 in Kidderpore raised the issue of two people being electrocuted due to waterlogging in Kidderpore on the day of heavy rainfall. Member Mayor-in-Council (Drainage ) Tarak Singh said that the drain in Bhukailash Road has been delisted for the first time in 40 years. "An underground drainage plan has been taken up and within one year things will improve in Kidderpore area," he added.

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