English Bazaar overcomes water woes with smart makeover
The Statesman | 22 July 2025
Not too long ago, residents of English Bazaar town in Malda would brace themselves whenever dark clouds gathered overhead. Even a short spell of rain meant flooded streets, stranded vehicles, and waterlogged homes. But today, that reality has changed — and changed remarkably.
Thanks to significant improvements in the town’s drainage system, waterlogging is no longer a routine concern. While occasional heavy downpours still cause water accumulation in a few low-lying areas, the water now drains swiftly into the Mahananda river, restoring normalcy within hours. The man widely credited for this transformation is Krishnendu Narayan Choudhury, the current chairman of English Bazaar Municipality.
With decades of administrative experience and deep political insight, Choudhury has emerged as a key figure in reshaping urban infrastructure in Malda. His repeated appointments as chairman — in 1995, 2000, 2010, 2015, and again from 2022 — have enabled him to lead with continuity and vision.
Under his leadership, the municipality took a bold step in 2023 by raising the civic budget by Rs 12 crore, taking it to Rs 169 crore. The enhanced funds were channelled into a wide range of civic priorities: drainage, sanitation, water supply, park development, rainwater harvesting, public health, and recycling.
Among his standout initiatives was the introduction of night cleaning drives in August 2024, a first-of-its-kind in the region. This followed a special cleanliness campaign in July, which aimed to prevent the spread of dengue through better hygiene and public awareness. Mr Choudhury’s administration deployed 22 new garbage carriers, launched door-to-door campaigns, and coordinated the state-mandated drive from July 15–27 with remarkable efficiency.
Mr Choudhury has also focused on long-term engineering solutions. A key project currently underway is the construction of a 1.25-kilometre elevated drain to redirect runoff from 12 critical wards directly into the Mahananda — a move aimed at mitigating the town’s lingering waterlogging challenges during extreme monsoon events.
What makes Krishnendu Narayan Choudhury’s leadership particularly impactful is not just his administrative post, but also his stature as a senior political figure. A close associate of chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Mr Choudhury brings both grassroots connection and state-level influence to the table.
Born in a prominent zamindar family in Malda, Choudhury holds degrees in BA and LLB from the University of Calcutta. His political journey began with the Indian National Congress in 1974, followed by a stint in the Trinamul Congress (TMC) in 1998. After returning briefly to Congress in 2006, he re-joined TMC in 2013. That same year, he won the English Bazaar by-election as a TMC candidate.
Between 2013 and 2016, he also served as West Bengal’s minister for tourism, and later as minister for food processing and horticulture, leaving a mark in the state cabinet under Mamata Banerjee.
Mr Choudhury’s long-standing presence in English Bazaar’s civic affairs has allowed him to blend experience with bold, future-facing governance. From better waste management to smarter infrastructure planning, his leadership is slowly transforming the urban landscape of Malda’s most important town.
And for the people of English Bazaar, the absence of ankle-deep water after a downpour has become a simple but powerful symbol of that change.