The Kolkata Municipal Corporation will clean heavily silted underground sewer lines on a stretch in south Calcutta that will benefit residents of Monohorpukur, Deshapriya Park, parts of Kalighat and neighbouring lanes.

Engineers of the KMC said the silted sewer lines are responsible for waterlogging and delayed draining out of water from these neighbourhoods.

The work is likely to begin after the monsoon and it will cost ₹3.77 crore.

A senior engineer of the KMC said that 1.5km underground drainage network that will be cleaned starts from near the site where Tridhara Sammilani Club’s Durga Puja is held.

The drainage lines run under Monohorpukur Road, Satish Mukherjee Road, Library Road, crosses SP Mukherjee Road and then runs under Kali Temple Road before merging into Tolly’s Nullah.

“The diameter of the drainage lines have shrunk because of years of silt deposition. We will desilt the drainage pipes to increase the flow of water,” said a senior official of the civic body.

“The work order has been issued. Parts of Ward 83, 84 and 85 will benefit from the project,” said the official.

Debashis Kumar, the councillor of Ward 85 and also the MLA of Rashbehari, said the work is likely to begin after the monsoon.

“The drainage lines will be desilted. The corporation has issued the work order, but the work is likely to begin after the monsoon. Neighbourhoods like Monohorpukur, Deshapriya Park, parts of Kalighat will benefit from the desilting,” said Kumar, also a mayoral council member of the KMC.

Paromita Chatterjee, the councillor of Ward 84 that includes Monohorpukur Road, said there were two lanes in her ward where waterlogging was common after a intense spell of rain.

“Nakuleswar Bhattacharjee Lane and another lane near Gaudiya Math gets waterlogged. I hope that once the drainage lines are desilted, these lanes will not get waterlogged,” said Chatterjee.

KMC sources said the work may not begin at all till the festivities around Durga Puja and Diwali ends. The civic body avoids road excavation during festivals.

The desilting of the 1.5km network of drainage lines can be completed before next the monsoon even if it starts after the Puja.

“The deadline for the project is six months,” said an engineer.

KMC sources said they will dig trenches at gaps of 150 metre to access the underground sewer lines and will not dig open the entire road.

Work stalled

The KMC had to temporarily stop the laying of underground drainage lines in a part of Kalighat on Sunday after residents complained that dug up roads during the monsoon creates lots of problems.

An official said underground drainage lines had been laid under 175 metre, out of 600 metre where the new lines are to be laid.

“This project was about laying fresh underground drainage lines under Dharmadas Road, Nepal Bhattacharjee first lane and Kalighat Road,” said an official.