Clean Calcutta Project

The Thakurpurkur khaal (canal) has also been described as the Kabardanga khaal. It is a 6 km canal that extends from Kalighat canal and eventually through various interminglings is connected to the Bay of Bengal. What makes it relevant for Kolkatans is that this canal runs through a part of the city – and is largely choked.

The Thakurpukur canal is choked with reeds, muck and water hyacinth. As a result, the drainage capability of the canal has declined considerably; residents claim that what an area that would normally take two days to drain after heavy rain now takes around seven days with the accompanying hazards of pestilence and disease outbreak.

When cricketer Steve Waugh came to Calcutta in early May 2009, he kicked off a de-choking initiative for this canal. Steve wore gumboots and donned gloves to get down and lift reeds off the canal and put them into a jute sack. He did so in collaboration with Calcutta Foundation, Calcutta Sparkling 2009 and with the under-privileged children of Missionaries of the Word.

The de-choking of the canal is a trailer of a much larger picture – the ambitious exercise of keeping every water body in Kolkata impeccably clean and using its potential to rejuvenate communities.