Although the panchayat elections have ended, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is still feeling the after-effects with delayed work projects. There has been a labour shortage since many workers went back to their homes to vote which has been delaying the dredging work being carried out by the civic body in collaboration with the state government. Officials felt they are fighting a losing battle to avoid water logging in the city during the monsoon. The civic body has already pledged a sum of Rs 7.15 crore to dredge the three major outfall canals ~ Town Head Cut Channel, Feeder Canal Channel and Suburban Head Cut Channel ~ to the state irrigation department. These three canals have a total length of 36 kilometres and discharge at least 80 per cent of the city's sewerage and rainwater. Civic engineers said since the panchayat elections were declared just as the work started, the labourers requested permission to go back to their villages to vote. As the dates came nearer, they started returning to their homes. Thus, dredging work suffered to a great extent. "In places where 50 labourers were supposed to work, the number was reduced to five during the election period. The excavation work was hampered for over 15 to 20 days,' an engineer said after reviewing the sites. Engineers are doubtful about the completion of dredging work before the official date of entry of monsoon in the state, 15 June. "We have asked them to complete at least 80 per cent of the work before monsoon. But at this stage, even this plan seems difficult,' an engineer said. Moreover, the boxes, within which the dredging machines are kept while excavating the earth from the canals, could not be made on time due to labour shortage. As a result there has been a problem in dredging parts of the Bantala Bheri. The Bantala Bheri serves as the outlet to the city's canals and all sewerage and rainwater is discharged into the Kulti river by it. Any disruption in the flow of water from the Bantala Bheri will in turn lead to stagnation of water in the outfall canals. This might lead to water logging in the city, an engineer said. "The pace of work on the downstream section of the Bantala Bheri needs to be increased as silt from some areas like the Khanberia portion is yet to be removed. Though the irrigation department has assured us of completing work by 10 June, we have some reservations. They should have started work earlier,' a civic engineer said