Calcutta police is preparing to tackle problems related to waterlogging in association with other agencies with monsoon setting in.

A recent meeting at Lalbazar chalked out the measures to tackle waterlogging. The meeting was attended by representatives of the fire brigade, Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC), civil defence department, PWD, transport department and CESC.

“The meeting tried to iron out the differences between the agencies involved in fighting waterlogging and related problems,” said S.N. Sarkar, the additional commissioner of police (I).

Each divisional deputy commissioner has been asked to send a list of low-lying areas that are prone to waterlogging and identify the areas where residents could be shifted during an emergency.

Lalbazar is also collecting other relevant data, like how long it takes to drain out accumulated water, the agencies involved in the upkeep of roads and infrastructure and the hurdles in draining out water quickly.

The CMC has been asked to immediately repair several roads to prevent accumulation of water. The roads include Free School Street, Bhukailash Road, Hungerford Street, Garden Reach Road, Sudhir Bose Road, Raja Dinendra Street, Sukeas Street and Belgachhia Road.

The cops also pointed out that the CMC needs to raise the level of its pump sets, as several of them get submerged during heavy showers and cannot be operated.

CESC has been asked to take steps to prevent accidental electrocution, which results from snapped electrical wires falling into accumulated water on the road. Last monsoon, two persons died after stepping on snapped wires near Sraddhananda Park in central Calcutta.

The brief for the civil defence department is to keep 10 large boats ready. These will be deployed, in addition to four police boats, during an emergency.

To evacuate residents of marooned areas, the transport department will provide 12 minibuses, five large buses and around 20 high-clearance vehicles that can be driven on waterlogged roads.

The authorities are also preparing a directory of phone numbers of officials involved in tackling waterlogging to ensure coordination among the agencies.

The police also asked the meteorological department to issue forecasts of heavy rain on a priority basis.