The Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) has excavated new drainage lines surrounding the Belgachhia dumping ground in Howrah to prevent waterlogging in the surrounding areas.

More than 200 metre of drainage lines have been excavated and hume pipes will be fitted in the dug-up stretch soon.

"The excavation work is complete and the accumulated water has been drained out," said a senior official of KMDA.

Several areas in three wards of the Howrah Municipal Corporation — wards 7, 8 and 9 — were getting waterlogged following a landslide at the Belgachhia waste dumping ground in March.

Three hillocks of waste had grown so tall that a landslide-like situation occurred. It damaged the water supply underground. Cracks appeared on the ground.

"The landslide also damaged the underground sewer lines and piles of garbage and soil choked the sewer lines," said Sujoy Chakravarty, the chairperson of the board of administrators of Howrah Municipal Corporation.

The Howrah civic body does not have an elected body since 2018. A board of administrators, appointed by the state government, is running the corporation.

The areas that were waterlogged after the accident at the Belgachhia waste dumping site were Bamangachhi Railway Colony, B Road and C Road.

Chakravarty said that since the sewer lines were choked by the debris and the waste, the sewage was not getting any outlet, and this led to the waterlogging. Residents had then complained about the unbearable stench in the neighbourhoods.

"The KMDA has excavated nearly 200 metre of new drainage lines. The water and sewage are being drained out through these lines and being collected in an oxidation pond, from where the sewage and rainwater are further drained out into the canals," said Chakravarty.

Following the landslide, dozens of hutments around the ground developed cracks while some collapsed, forcing the residents to evacuate.

A senior official of the KMDA said excavating the drainage lines was a temporary solution, and the agency would soon lower hume pipes into the excavated stretch.

"The new sewer lines will be completed when the hume pipes are fitted. Our priority was to drain out the water and ensure that rainwater and sewage found a channel. We have been able to do that. We will now install the hume pipes," said the official.

The KMDA is also engaged in removing the legacy waste that has accumulated at the Belgachhia waste dumping site.

The hillocks were over 40-metre tall, while solid waste management experts said the height should not have exceeded half of what it had become.

"We are not dumping any fresh waste in Belgachhia. The waste is going to Dhapa in Calcutta and Baidyabati in Hooghly. Besides, the legacy waste in Belgachhia is being removed," said Chakravarty.