Nearly a month after heavy rains, several pockets of Howrah remain flooded, with stagnant water turning pitch black from weeks of accumulated filth and garbage.
Residents of Pilkhana, Fakir Bagan, and Kamardanga — located about 6km from central Calcutta — continue to wade through knee-deep water, despite other low-lying areas showing signs of receding floodwaters. Ground floors of many multi-storey buildings remain submerged in dirty water, forcing residents to endure unsanitary conditions.
Schoolchildren navigate the flooded streets daily, and senior citizens have no choice but to live amidst the grime for weeks on end. Drinking water has become a costly necessity. Daily commutes have also grown more expensive with e-rickshaw and autorickshaw drivers hiking fares, citing risky, waterlogged roads.
Several residents around Fakir Bagan Lane, Nanda Ghosh Road, and Pilkhana Third Lane said water had partially receded in the last 48 hours. However, fresh showers on Tuesday afternoon dashed hopes of a quick recovery. Though the Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC) has installed pumps, residents — frustrated and angry after weeks of waterlogging — said they are unaware where the water is being discharged.
“The ground floors of all multi-storey houses are underwater. We have to buy drinking water. At my age, I shouldn’t have to wade through this every day,” said 65-year-old Ram Pravesh Sharma from Fakir Bagan, who lives with his wife, two sons, and two daughters.
Sharma added: “E-rickshaw and autorickshaw fares have nearly doubled. Drivers say the waterlogged roads are full of potholes and too risky to navigate.”
The population density in this part of Howrah has surged in recent years with high-rises springing up inside narrow lanes crisscrossing Pilkhana, Fakir Bagan, Kamardanga, and parts of Salkia. Overstretched civic infrastructure — especially for drinking water, drainage, and sewage — has left residents vulnerable to recurring monsoon waterlogging.
“There was a pipe leak recently, which made things worse,” said Sanjib Porel, who runs a chicken shop on Kamardanga HIT Road. “We hope the water recedes soon since the rains have mostly stopped.”
While some pockets have seen water levels drop, the roads that have emerged from the flood are now barely navigable. Around the railway quarters in Bamangachi near Rani Jheel, subsidence has damaged roads, making driving hazardous. In some stretches, the bituminous surface has peeled away, exposing the uneven layers beneath.
Benaras Road in Salkia, submerged for weeks, has resurfaced, riddled with potholes and craters, rendering it almost unusable for vehicles.
Senior HMC officials acknowledge that traditionally low-lying areas still face flooding. “Now that waters are receding, we have begun clearing clogged drains. Earlier, stagnant water would remain for long periods. The current dry spell helps the pumps drain out the accumulated water,” said a member of the HMC’s board of administrators.