The civic body has asked the public works department to clean the sewer lines under its jurisdiction to prevent waterlogging this monsoon. A Telegraph picture

The city pockets where the drainage network is maintained by the public works department (PWD) will suffer waterlogging this monsoon, the mayor has warned.

In a letter to PWD minister Kshiti Goswami, Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya has identified five pockets which he fears will go under water after a spell of heavy rain because of the poor upkeep of the drainage network.

The five pockets are the Alipore Bodyguard Lines, SSKM Hospital-Hospital Road, Cathedral Road, the vicinities of the Assembly building and Akashbani Bhavan and the entire Maidan.

The drainage infrastructure in these areas is “substantially” looked after by the PWD but complaints of waterlogging are pouring in at the civic body, Bhattacharyya said in the letter.

The mayor requested Goswami to take steps to clean the sewer lines fast and depute a nodal officer who the Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC) can call during an emergency.

The mayor also stated in his letter that parts of Behala will be flooded as Charial khal, the main drainage canal for the southern city fringes, has been blocked by the PWD to facilitate the construction of a bridge at Bakhrahat.

The pace of work is “extremely slow”, Bhattacharyya said, requesting the PWD minister to speed up construction.

The mayor called for a “better” coordination between the CMC and the PWD to tackle the problem of waterlogging.

“I have received the letter. Our engineers are in touch with the civic authorities. A joint inspection of the waterlogging-prone sites have been carried out,” Goswami said.

“Following the joint inspection on May 27, it was decided that the PWD will desilt the sewer lines between SSKM Hospital and the underground brick sewers running along AJC Bose Road and set up more gully pits around the Assembly building and Akashbani Bhavan,” said a civic engineer. “But the PWD is yet to take up work.”

In the Alipore Bodyguard Lines area, the “penstock” gate which prevents Adi Ganga water from entering the underground sewer line is not functioning properly.

“Maintenance work will start soon,” said a PWD executive engineer. “We have also decided to remove the blockages in the Charial khal.”