“Waterlogging has been a curse for our area as it affects normal life for several days at a time. Now we are living in fear of the spread of waterborne diseases,” said Saha. Large areas of Behala, including Parnashree, Silpara, Shakuntala Park and James Long Sarani, were submerged due to torrential rains lashing the city since Wednesday night.
Residents of several houses in Lake Garden, Golf Garden and Charu Chandra Place complained about the civic body’s inaction in diverting storm water from their homes. Area in Kiddarpur, Garden Reach, tollygunge, Jadavpur and large areas of EM bypass were waterlogged till Friday evening.
Vinita Shaw Was to go to a nursing home in North Kolkata for a check-up on Friday from Muktarambabu Street. But she had to cancel her doctor’s appointment because she could not leave her house as her neighborhood was flooded. “It was important to have a date with my doctor, but I didn’t risk filling my waist with water to get to the nursing home,” Shaw said. The situation was equally bad in large areas of North Kolkata including Amherst Street, Bidhan Sarani, Chittaranjan Avenue and MG Road. The water started receding from these areas on Friday afternoon.
Power supply to various parts of North and Central Kolkata as well as some areas of South Kolkata, had to be closed on Thursday night as the rising water level inundated the junction boxes and either malfunctioned or electrocuted. The supply was restored after the water started receding on Friday morning.
“Though it has been raining incessantly since Wednesday, we had to shut down the power supply as a precaution during the particularly heavy period that started at 9.30 pm on Thursday. Avijit Ghosh, vice-president (distribution), CESC, said, “The torrential rains led to a steady rise in the water level and necessitated the power supply shutdown at places where the water breaches the safety mark.”
In central Kolkata, power was cut in parts of Theater Road, Camac Street and Middleton Street. To the north were the areas of Dum Dum, as well as Baranagar, Dakshineswar and Belgharia, where the situation turned dangerous.
In addition, there were areas in Haridevpur and Kasba in south-west and south-east Kolkata where electricity was switched off following requests from residents as there was a risk of water levels submerging individual meters in homes.
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