Latest news with #KEIIP
Time of India
18-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
KMC hires 286 portable pumps to flush out storm water from added areas
Kolkata: The KMC sewerage and drainage department has hired 286 portable pumps and kept them ready to save residents of added areas such as Behala, Garden Reach, the Tollygunge-Jadavpur belt, Garia and neighbourhoods off EM Bypass from waterlogging during the monsoon. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The department already has 100 such pumps in its possession. According to a civic official, though the sewerage and drainage department was ready to combat waterlogging in some of the waterlogging-prone pockets in the city proper, including Thanthania, Amherst Street, Sukeas Street, Bowbazar, MG Road, CR Avenue, Camac Street and Bhowanipore, the officials were not sure about the fate of the residents in added areas. This is particularly concerning in parts of Behala, Tollygunge and areas off EM Bypass, where there is no underground drainage system and a drainage development project was yet to be completed. "The drainage upgrade project under KEIIP is dragging too much, and there is no hope that we can give the residents relief this monsoon," said a KMC drainage department official. "In such a situation, we have asked our officials in the boroughs to keep portable pumps ready and press them into service in case of a downpour," said a KMC drainage department official. The first major drainage upgrade project for the city's drainage system was taken up by KMC under the Kolkata Environment Improvement Project (KEIP) in 2003. The majority of funds (Rs 1600 crore) from the Asian Development Bank-funded mega project were allocated to develop the drainage system in Behala. However, when the project ended after being delayed for years, the civic engineers found faults with the laying of pipes. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Additionally, several low-lying areas bordering Joka and Maheshtala municipalities were left untouched. This necessitated a second phase of the KEIP drainage upgrade project for Behala. Under the second phase, drainage development work is in progress in areas including Silpara, Sakuntala Park, Sakherbazar, Upen Banerjee Road and parts of James Long Sarani. This work has added to the waterlogging woes, conceded a KMC drainage department official.
Time of India
16-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
Mayor's July deadline for Behala drainage work
Kolkata: Mayor Firhad Hakim on Friday set a July deadline for Kolkata Environment and Infrastructure Improvement (KEIIP) to wrap up the Behala drainage development project. During the 'Talk to Mayor' interaction on Friday, where a Sakherbajar resident urged the mayor to take corrective measures before the monsoon, Hakim expressed dissatisfaction over the delay in completing the upgrade work. A spell of heavy showers lays bare the sorry state of the drainage system in Behala. Large parts of Behala get inundated after every downpour. The familiar scenes of people wading through knee-deep water has made residents of Behala keep their fingers crossed before the onset of monsoon. According to Behala residents, the drainage modernization project has been dragging on endlessly with no signs of improvement in the waterlogging scenario. According to a KMC official, the worst sufferers have been the residents of Motilal Gupta Road, MG Road and Shakuntala Park, among other areas. The first major drainage upgrade project for the city's drainage system was taken up by the KMC under KEIP in 2003. A majority of funds (Rs 1600 crore) of the Asian Development Bank-funded mega project was allocated to develop the drainage system in Behala. However, when the project ended after getting delayed for years, the civic engineers found fault with the laying of pipes to convert open drains into underground ones. This apart, several low-lying areas bordering Joka and Mahestala municipalities were left untouched. That necessitated a second phase of the KEIP drainage upgrade project for Behala. Under the second phase, large drainage development work is under progress in areas including Silpara, Shakuntala Park, Sakherbazar, Upen Banerjee Road and parts of James Long Sarani. This ongoing work has added to the waterlogging woes in Behala, conceded a KMC drainage department official.
Time of India
12-05-2025
- Time of India
Setback for KMC's water meter plan as 85 devices go missing from S Kol
1 2 Kolkata: Altogether 85 water meters installed under the Kolkata Environmental Improvement Investment Programme (KEIIP) were reported missing from residential areas in south Kolkata's Patli-Baisnabghata area during a month-long audit. This has prompted the KEIIP-appointed company to file a complaint with the Patuli missing meters were discovered during routine readings in wards 101, 102, 107, 108, and 110 of the Anandapur-Patuli service zone. These meters, which are the property of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), were installed as part of a performance-based contract for the ongoing water loss management project."Our representatives conduct monthly visits to record water usage patterns , and during recent inspections, they noticed meters missing from several households," the complaint states. The exact number of missing meters has not been disclosed, but the company has provided authorities with detailed addresses of affected properties, with police claiming around 85 such premises have already been identified by them."Water meters were installed in most of the houses under the Patuli PS area, and every month our representatives visit all the houses to take meter readings to count the water use pattern. At that time, our representatives found that the water meters are missing in a few installed water meters are the property of KMC. We have attached addresses and other details where we found that water meters are missing," the complaint said. KMC officials emphasised that tampering with or removing these meters is illegal as they are municipal property. "We take these incidents seriously as they hamper our water management efforts and result in financial losses to the corporation," said a senior KMC official. "Residents with information about the missing meters are urged to contact their local police station or KMC or KEIIP officials," said a police to KMC sources, around 1,000 water meters installed in neighbourhoods located off EM Bypass and the Tollygunge-Jadavpur belt were stolen in the past year. According to a KMC water supply department official, 9,500 meters have been installed in areas such as Patuli, Anandapur, Kasba, and other areas located off EM Bypass under KEIIP since early to KEIIP sources, the installation of water meters was underway in areas such as vast areas off EM Bypass under a special project. The KEIIP completed the installation of around 9,500 meters in these areas that broadly fall under four KMC wards (Wards 101, 102, 107, and 110). A KMC official expressed concern over the rapid theft of such expensive meters, each of which costs between Rs 2,200 and Rs 3,500. According to the KEIIP official, while over 600 water meters were stolen from Patuli alone, the remaining meters were found missing from Anandapur, Kasba, and some areas under Jadavpur police Firhad Hakim has also flagged concern about the theft time and again and asked the senior KMC officials to keep a tab on the safety of the water meters that have been installed to determine the water consumption pattern of households in several neighbourhoods where projects are being taken to augment potable water to households to end a longstanding crisis."It is true that we need to install water meters in several parts of the city to assess the water consumption pattern and accordingly plan to bridge the gap in the supply line. An area-wise survey has revealed that while residents in some neighbourhoods have access to excess drinking water and thus tend to get engaged in colossal wastage, others suffer from scarcity of water. But the frequent theft of water meters has posed a challenge to the KEIIP survey," said Hakim. A section of the KMC officials also expressed concern over owners of households destroying such meters for they suspected that the KMC would charge for the supply of water.
