The Kolkata Municipal Corporation has requested Durga Puja organisers and power utility CESC to switch off electricity in waterlogged pandals and neighbourhoods in the wake of the forecast of heavy rain in Calcutta on Thursday, mayor Firhad Hakim said on Wednesday.
Hakim said all puja pandals have temporary electric connections, and they can turn into possible sources of electrocution. Puja organisers must be cautious about such connections, he said.
Kolkata Police, too, requested organisers to ensure that the wires were well insulated so that there was no possibility of electrocution in case the wires got wet in the rain.
The police also requested the organisers to keep enough volunteers and brief them about how to handle visitors in case of overcrowding.
“When it rains, people look for shelters. Pandals provide shelter during rain, and
everyone tries to get inside a pandal. Volunteers should know how to handle such a situation,” said an officer of Kolkata Police.
On Wednesday evening, Hakim chaired a meeting of senior officials and engineers of the KMC at the civic body’s headquarters.
“Puja organisers should switch off the power supply if the pandal is waterlogged. We have also requested CESC to cut power supply in neighbourhoods in case waterlogging happens,” the mayor said after the meeting.
A KMC official said the civic body has deployed 580 pumps in waterlogging-prone areas.
A special bulletin issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday said “heavy rain” (7-11cm) was “very likely to occur at one or two places” in Calcutta.
Engineers will be stationed in all the 82 drainage pumping stations of KMC for optimisation in case of heavy
rain.
The municipal bodies of Salt Lake, New Town and Howrah have also deployed portable pumps or kept them in stock for deployment in the areas that are prone to waterlogging.