Barely 7km from the heart of Calcutta, on the western bank of the Hooghly, large parts of Howrah’s Salkia have been underwater for nearly a month.

The heavy showers may have stopped — but in Salkia, that means little.

Lanes and rows of houses on either side of Benaras Road remain inundated, with no sign of relief. Even stretches of the main road are submerged, making it a bone-rattling ride through potholes hidden under water.

Residents are forced to wade through stagnant water to manage their daily chores.

An overcast sky is enough to make hearts race in this part of Howrah, where a 22-year-old woman died of electrocution last August while walking through knee-deep water.

“No one seems to be bothered,” said Rekha Shaw, a homemaker in Ghoshpara, whose ground floor has been flooded for weeks.

Standing on the steps leading to the first floor — where she lives with her husband, two sons, and a black labrador — Rekha shared her fears with Metro.

Her elder son is a college student. The younger is in Class XI at a nearby school. “Water has flooded almost all houses in this locality. From the balcony, all you can see is water. I wait all day for my sons and husband to return home safely.”

Inside the flooded ground floor, two men stood in ankle-deep water. Bricks had been placed under the legs of the bed to keep it above water.

Ironically, both men work for the conservancy department of the Howrah Municipal Corporation.

“The drains are full. The water will only recede once the rain stops. It had started going down, but Monday night’s rain undid all of that,” said Indradeb Das, one of them. “The only relief is that the reservoir isn’t flooded yet — its lid is at a higher level.”

Benaras Road, lined with shops selling everything from garments to sweets and dotted with apartment blocks, marriage halls, schools, and clinics, remains a lifeline for thousands across Pilkhana, Golbari, Babudanga, and Belgachhia.

“Everyone rolls up their trousers before wading to school,” said Aditya Thakur, a Class X
student of Salkia Hindu School on Hrishikesh Ghosh Lane.

Aditya cycles to school every day. For the past few weeks, he’s had to get off his cycle at Benaras Road and walk through the water, wobbling like many others trying to keep their balance.

“In the evening, e-rickshaws and autos refuse to come this way — the drivers are scared of potholes. And if they do, they charge a lot more,” he said. “Ei dik-e prochur jol (There’s a lot of water this side).”

Aditya is among the brave. Many of his classmates are accompanied by their parents through the flooded roads.

Women were seen wading through water to reach the local market on Tuesday. Men trudged through the water, holding bags of drinking water over their shoulders.

“The officials say pumps are working, but the water level never recedes. It’s been like this for years,” said Pratap Shi, in his early 50s.

Senior officials of the Howrah Municipal Corporation said the focus has been on draining water from major roads first, before addressing smaller lanes and localities.

“There was a time when almost all of Howrah remained waterlogged for weeks. Now it is limited to low-lying pockets,” said a member of the civic body’s board of administrators.

“We have placed pumps at different locations so water can be drained faster. In areas like Kona Expressway and Ramrajatala, water has already started receding,” said the member.

Just across the river from Calcutta, the official advice seems to be: wait —or pray.

Many residents are doing just that. Because relying on the administration no longer makes sense.