A child is off to school on a cycle-rickshaw down a flooded Behala road. Picture by Pradip Sanyal

Behala and Topsia continued to be under water on Tuesday, a day after the downpour, though the rest of the city was back to normal.

Parts of Behala, Thakurpukur and Topsia were under knee-deep water till Tuesday evening, bearing the brunt of 183 mm of rainfall from 11.30am on Sunday to 11.30am on Monday. In some pockets, boats were out for the second consecutive day on Tuesday to ferry people across roads.

The residents of Basundhara Park, Barisha, Anandanagar, Talpukur Road, Sukanta Pally and Promod Nagar had to wade through water, almost five-ft deep at places. In Topsia and Tiljala, the Sapgachi Second Lane, Martin Para, Topsia First Lane and PN Roy Road areas were submerged.

“Water cannot be pumped out of the area because the pumps installed by the Calcutta Municipal Corporation are not efficient,” alleged Shyamadas Roy, the Trinamul Congress councillor of ward 126. He also pointed out that the drainage canals, not desilted for years, were choked.

“It’s the same story every monsoon,” said Santanu Saha, a resident of Barisha. “The area gets waterlogged even after a brief shower. A prolonged downpour leaves us flooded for a week.”

Shakti Mondal, a resident of Behala, said the situation has not improved despite several deputations, roadblocks and gherao of the local borough offices.

In the submerged areas of Topsia, water had seeped into several shops and the ground floor of most buildings. “My shop has been flooded,” said Mohamad Afzal, of Topsia.

Civic officials said the situation would improve once the drainage infrastructure is revamped. Three more pumping stations will be set up at Dhapa, for which the Centre has granted Rs 80 crore.

“The residents of Topsia and Tiljala will not suffer waterlogging once the pumps are installed,” said Tushar Ghosh, the civic chief engineer (drainage and sewerage).

In Behala and Thakurpukur, the residents will get some relief once work under the drainage and sewerage schemes of Calcutta Environment Improvement Project gets over.