With an administrator appointed to the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation on Saturday, the immediate priority is to prepare Salt Lake and adjoining areas under its jurisdiction for the monsoon, sources said on Sunday.

Officials and engineers are now focused on desilting drains, repairing potholes, clearing vats daily, and removing overgrown shrubs on road islands and median dividers.

Uncertainty loomed over the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC), which provides civic services in Salt Lake, parts of Rajarhat, and nearby areas, after mayor Krishna Chakraborty resigned on Thursday. Concerns had grown over how the civic body would manage monsoon preparedness amid possible administrative delays.

On Saturday, the state government appointed BMC commissioner Ravi Agarwal as administrator to oversee the civic body’s functioning.

State government sources said the administrator will enjoy the powers of the mayoral council, which means he will have more financial, administrative and decision-making powers.

Metro had reported on Friday about the broken and battered roads in Salt Lake.

An official said engineers of the civic body were identifying potholes and broken roads so that some sort of temporary repairs could be completed before the monsoon sets in. The usual date of arrival of the monsoon in south Bengal is June 10.

“Potholes tend to become hazardous after rainfall as they get filled with water. Motorcyclists and cyclists may fail to spot them and risk toppling if a wheel enters a pothole. We are trying to repair potholes and damaged stretches of road ahead of the monsoon,” said a BMC official.

“Thorough repairs will need a lot of funds; it will be taken up later by both the BMC and Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority,” said the official.

Solid waste management in Bidhannagar has been in disarray for several years, with overflowing vats and garbage often left uncleared for days. “I have never seen Bidhannagar so dirty. There are pavements with garbage piled up,” said a resident of EE Block.

The civic body does not have a dedicated solid waste disposal ground, and all waste generated within its area is transported to Dhapa, located around 18 km away from the BMC limits.

“Since the Dhapa waste disposal site is under the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, our garbage vans are often cleared after KMC vehicles. The distance, along with delays in unloading, means the vans cannot complete the required number of trips in a day. As a result, waste is not cleared daily,” said an official.

An official said engineers have been trying hard for the last fortnight to ensure that the day’s solid waste was cleared the same day and nothing was stacked in vats. “I think we have achieved some success,” said the official.

Bad condition of road at CA Block, Salt Lake

Cleaning gully pits, trimming tree branches and cleaning the overgrowth in islands and median dividers are also on the priority list of the civic body.

Although Salt Lake — comprising wards 29 to 41 of the BMC — has a comprehensive drainage network, several pockets of Rajarhat continue to face drainage problems. In many of these areas, illegal and unplanned construction has blocked natural drainage channels. They also lack an adequate drainage network and lie at a lower elevation than adjoining canals.

Areas around Haldiram’s on VIP Road, as well as Jagatpur, Narayantala and Hatiara, are among the pockets in Rajarhat that are particularly prone to waterlogging.

“Coordination meetings have been held with the public works department and Hidco. PWD was requested to clean the drains along VIP Road, while Hidco was requested to dredge a canal that takes much of the storm water of Rajarhat,” said an official.

Dozens of portable pumps have been hired and will be placed in low-lying areas

The civic body has launched a 24x7 helpline — 6292234126 — for residents to lodge complaints related to civic services.

“We are also considering a mobile application that would bring together most civic services that can be delivered digitally. Residents would be able to register complaints, share information and make certain payments through the app,” a senior official said.

The proposal is part of the civic body’s long-term plans and will require further consultations before it is implemented, he added.

The West Bengal Municipal Corporation Act, 2006, states that an administrator can be appointed for six months. If fresh elections are not held by then, the term of the administrator can be extended by six more months.