The Opposition parties blamed what they called an unplanned and unnecessary beautification drive by the Mamata Banerjee government for increasing the risk of electrocution and obstructing the natural drainage system, which purportedly caused the loss of at least eight lives and unprecedented waterlogging that choked the city on Tuesday.
“In the name of beautification, they planted unnecessary metal lamp posts across the city, and in many places, they wrapped those metal poles with wires and decorative lights, creating risky and vulnerable points for electrocution. Today’s deaths of at least eight people from electrocution are unfortunate, and the government cannot deny its responsibility,” said former Calcutta mayor and senior CPM leader Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya.
A source said at least 10 people had died, including eight from electrocution, in various mishaps caused by the heavy rainfall in Calcutta since early Tuesday morning. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee had said eight people had died in the city and one each in North 24-Parganas and South 24-Parganas.
Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the Opposition, claimed that at least three of the electrocution victims had come into contact with street lamp posts maintained by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation.
“The CESC, whose owner had given ₹600 crore to the Trinamool Congress through electoral bonds, is certainly responsible. But three people were killed after being electrocuted by lamp posts maintained by the KMC. We want to see (CESC chairman) Sanjiv Goenka, (Kolkata police commissioner) Manoj Verma, and (mayor) Firhad Hakim in jail. We also demand the resignation of chief minister Mamata Banerjee,” said Adhikari.
The Nandigram MLA demanded a permanent government job for each family of those who died on Tuesday during the disastrous waterlogging and compensation of ₹1 crore for each bereaved family.
CPM Rajya Sabha member Bhattacharya said that many wetlands and small ponds in the city — which had once served as a natural drainage system during heavy rainfall and helped release rainwater quickly — had become the target of developers. With the support of Trinamool Congress councillors, he alleged, these promoters filled up natural waterbodies and constructed buildings over them.
“The so-called beautification drive, which is completely unnecessary, is one of the main reasons for the suffering of Calcuttans following incessant rainfall. In the last 15 years of Trinamool Congress rule, they destroyed the natural drainage and seepage systems — small ponds, wetlands, and greenfield areas — under the guise of beautification,” said Bhattacharya, who had served as mayor from 2005 to 2010 before Mamata came to power in 2011.
“During our tenure, we created a robust drainage system. However, in the past 15 years, very little has been done to improve it. If the KMC wants to keep the drainage system effective, it must conduct regular maintenance,” he added.
A BJP leader and KMC councillor Sajal Ghosh also blamed the Trinamool regime for destroying natural canals and seepage systems in the guise of beautification.
“If you walk just a kilometre from Narkeldanga police station, you can see what Trinamool did to the natural canals. Look at the condition of Rajabazar and Bagjola Khal — once navigable waterways, now left in ruins,” said Ghosh.
BJP Bengal president Samik Bhattacharya also accused the Mamata government of being responsible for the deaths, pointing to how the East Calcutta Wetlands were encroached upon by illegal constructions.
“She (Mamata) cannot cover up the KMC’s failure by blaming only the CESC. The CESC does not handle drainage or construction on the East Calcutta Wetlands. While CESC has its responsibilities, the chief minister cannot shift all the blame onto the company,” said Samik.
“Why didn’t the government ask people to stay home from early Tuesday morning? They only requested people to stay indoors after they failed to manage the situation,”
he added.
Former state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury blamed illegal construction for obstructing the city’s drainage.
“There is no proper drainage system in Calcutta to release rainwater, and the main reason is uncontrolled real estate promotion backed by the TMC. Because of this ‘promoters’ raj,’ the drainage system has been destroyed, and the city has turned into a jungle of concrete,” said Chowdhury.
Mamata, however, urged people and political parties not to indulge in politics during a disaster, claiming that her party never politicises tragedies when such disasters strike BJP-ruled states like Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, or Bihar.