Blame game continues as life in 'City of Joy' tries to rise above water

New Delhi, Sep 25 (IANS) A cloudburst that brought a month’s worth of rain in just five hours on Tuesday, combined with a high tide in river Hooghly, resulted in widespread waterlogging across West Bengal’s capital city of Kolkata this week. Even as the ‘City of Joy’ suffered damage to property, and electrocution deaths, authorities lobbed responsibility to another’s court.

Trouble rained on Kolkata at a time when the state was about to begin Durga Puja festivities.

Expressing her grief at the loss of lives, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee put the blame on the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group’s electrical utility company CESC, and sought compensation for the next of kin of the deceased.

Meanwhile, she pulled up Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) for not undertaking dredging in the reservoirs and rivers under its control.

As a result, she claimed, the overflow was spilling into the Ganges.

On its part, CESC claimed that the deaths were not related to its distribution network, and even those involving two lamp posts were not owned by it, said reports quoting a company spokesperson.

The DVC has also refuted the Chief Minister's allegation, claiming that the water flowing into the Ganga has nothing to do with the accumulation of water in Kolkata.

The DVC is a statutory corporation, operating in West Bengal and Jharkhand to handle the Damodar Valley Project. It comes under the Centre, and operates both thermal power stations and hydel power stations.

This is the third time in about two months that the Chief Minister has held the agency responsible for floods and waterlogging in several parts of south Bengal.

In July, she alleged that it had released waters from dams in large amounts without caring for the outcome. Several parts of south Bengal districts, including Hooghly, Howrah, and Paschim Medinipur have been witnessing floods due to heavy downpours.

Incidentally, DVC had issued warnings to parts of Purba and Paschim Bardhaman and Siliguri districts before releasing some 26,500 cusecs of water even on Thursday, September 25.

Stating that she has borne the brunt through the last 14 years, the Chief Minister said that she has also been writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to direct relevant authorities to undertake dredging operations in the rivers and canals coming under the DVC’s catchment areas.

Early last month too, CM Banerjee had pulled up the DVC with similar complaints.

In end-February, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a $200 million loan to “enhance the development of climate and disaster-resilient sewerage and drainage infrastructure in Kolkata, aiming to improve the city's livability”.

The bank pointed out, “Kolkata, one of India’s most populous and densely populated cities, faces significant challenges due to inadequate drainage and sewerage systems, causing urban floods and unhygienic environment. These issues are exacerbated by increased heavy rains due to climate change.”

The project includes construction of 84 km of combined trunk and secondary sewerage and drainage pipelines, 176 km of combined lateral sewerage and drainage pipelines up to customer connections, and 50,000 household sewer connections. It will also help construct one sewage treatment plant and five pumping stations.

Unfortunately, most of the water pumping machines are not in working condition even as a clogged drainage system and a Ganga in spate prove hinderance in cleaning operations.

Soon after assuming power in 2011, CM Banerjee's government had taken up a beatification spree that included painting the town in shades of blue and white, trident-shaped streetlights, and sprucing up canals with pedestrian bridges and pockets of greenery.

However, residents complain that most of these were for the eyes only, since behind the façade, the system was crumbling.

Kolkata has relied on an extensive network of creeks and canals that naturally channelled stormwater into the East Kolkata Wetlands.

Illegal construction and landfill projects have obliterated many of these networks, constricting the city’s capacity to drain excess water.

As unplanned urban sprawl filled up marshes and ponds, the underground sewerage system was strained under increased load, leading to frequent backups and waterlogging even during moderate rainfall.

--IANS

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