Very heavy showers overnight threw life out of gear in Kolkata and its surrounding areas on Tuesday, with several places inundated under knee-deep water and traffic paralysed. Visuals showed vast stretches of the city submerged, just days before Durga Puja celebrations.
Water entered many houses and residential complexes across the city as rain, which began past midnight, left roads underwater. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Alipore recorded 239 mm of rainfall till 5.30 am, which rose to 247.4 mm by 6.30 am. The IMD bulletin confirmed rainfall of 247.5 mm in the 24-hour period from 6.30 am on September 22 to 6.30 am on September 23.
The intensity of rainfall was highest in the southern and eastern parts of Kolkata. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) reported that Garia Kamdahari received 332 mm of rainfall in just a few hours, Jodhpur Park 285 mm, Kalighat 280.2 mm, Topsia 275 mm, Ballygunge 264 mm and Chetla 262 mm.
Other severely affected areas included Mominpur with 234 mm, Chingrihata 237 mm, Palmer Bazar 217 mm, Dhapa 212 mm, CPT Canal 209.4 mm, Ultadanga 207 mm, Kudghat 203.4 mm, Pagaldanga (Tangra) 201 mm, Kulia (Tangra) 196 mm and Thanthania 195 mm.
The deluge also impacted railway operations. Following the torrential rainfall, waterlogging was observed in the Howrah station yard, Sealdah South station yard, Chitpur North Cabin, several car sheds and multiple parts of the Sealdah yard.
Waterlogging on railway lines of Howrah and Sealdah divisions forced authorities to short-terminate and short-originate several suburban train services. Water pumps were deployed at multiple points, but as water from adjacent civil areas kept flowing back into the yards, the pumping operations were hampered.
In addition, long-distance services were affected, with the Howrah-New Jalpaiguri, Howrah-Gaya and Howrah-Jamalpur Vande Bharat Express trains rescheduled due to waterlogging in the Howrah division.
Kolkata Metro services were affected due to flooding, while flight services at the airport remained normal. Authorities deployed pumps around and inside the apron area to prevent water accumulation, cautioning that while there were no major disruptions, minor delays could occur.
The IMD said a low-pressure area has formed over the northeast Bay of Bengal and is likely to move northwestwards, bringing widespread light to moderate rain with isolated heavy to very heavy downpours in several South Bengal districts, including Purba Medinipur, Paschim Medinipur, South 24 Parganas, Jhargram and Bankura, till Wednesday.
It added that another fresh low-pressure system is expected to form over the east-central and adjoining north Bay of Bengal around September 25.
Weather officials said Kolkata will continue to see a generally cloudy sky with a few spells of light to moderate rain or thundershowers. On Tuesday, the maximum temperature was 30.5C, 2.3 degrees below normal, while the minimum settled at 24.6C, 1.4 degrees below normal. Maximum relative humidity stood at 100 per cent and minimum at 79 per cent.
The incessant rainfall has struck the city at a crucial time, with preparations for Durga Puja in full swing. Waterlogging has disrupted pandal-making activities and dampened festive markets.
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