VIP Road residents suffer waterlogging woes, traffic nightmare for commuters
Times of India | 31 July 2025
Kolkata: Intermittent spells of heavy rain have brought back waterlogging woes for residents near Haldiram's crossing off VIP Road, inconveniencing thousands who had to wade through knee-deep water inside their complexes and on the service road on Wednesday. Locals said waterlogging at the crossing has been a perennial problem over the years. Close to 2,000 families of Anupama housing complex have been stranded due to severe waterlogging. "The biggest problem is that cars often get stuck and cabs refuse to enter. The supply of essential items becomes a big problem. Ambulances, home delivery of medicines, and on-call doctors cannot enter due to heavy waterlogging. There are many elderly residents, and things become difficult during medical emergencies if such waterlogging occurs after a few spells of rain," said a resident of the housing. "The service road and the road to New Town get knee-deep water after spells of heavy rain, and our business gets hit," said Utpal Patra, who runs a roadside stall for the last 10 years.On Wednesday, a part of VIP Road witnessed slow traffic due to waterlogging, with those headed to the airport and to work having a tough time as both flanks and service roads remained inundated till late afternoon. Barely one of the two lanes was available on each flank. "It took me an hour to reach Ultadanga from airport gate 1," said Dum Dum resident Sayantan Chakraborty, who works in Kankurgachhi. Last-minute repairs ahead of the President's visit and the breakdown of multiple cars added to the morning traffic pressure. Civic officials said the waterlogging problem may subside if Bagjola and the other link canals increase their water-retaining capacity. PWD has been working on setting up four drainage pumping stations at Tegharia, Joramandir, Baguiati, and Kestopur. "The plan is to directly drain stormwater into Bagjola canal at Kestopur," said a govt official.