Overnight rain in Kolkata kills at least 7
At least seven people were killed in Kolkata after heavy overnight rainfall flooded streets, railway tracks, and Metro tracks.
The transport network was heavily disrupted, with several cars breaking down on waterlogged roads and school pool car services getting cancelled.
Many schools advised parents not to send their wards and offices declared work from home in the unprecedented situation.
Key neighbourhoods, including Lake Market, Rashbehari, Thanthania, Patuli, Santoshpur Avenue, Park Circus, Nagerbazar and Bosepukur Talbagan, reported knee-to-waist-deep water.
Till 5.30 am, the city recorded 332 mm rainfall in Kamdahari (Garia), 285 mm in Jodhpur Park, 280 mm in Kalighat, and 275 mm in Topsia Kolkata (Alipore) by 5 am. Even central and northern parts of the city, such as Ultadanga (207 mm) and Thanthania (195 mm), recorded heavy rainfall within hours.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee described the downpour as “unprecedented” and lash out at poor dredging of Farakka and “lapses” by power utility CESC.
“Even our houses are submerged; we are all suffering. I am feeling so bad for the Pujo pandals as well,” Banerjee said, adding that schools have been asked to declare holidays and office-goers advised to stay home for their own safety.
“I am in constant touch with the Mayor, Chief Secretary, and the police. Farakka is not dredged properly, so every time it rains in Bihar, UP, Uttarakhand, Mumbai, Delhi, everywhere there is waterlogging. This time the rain is slightly unusual,” the chief minister told a Bengali news channel.
Squarely blaming the power utility, she said, “Electricity is supplied by CESC, not us. It is their duty to ensure people do not suffer because of this. They will do business here, but not modernise here? They should send people to the field and fix this.”
Warning of further flooding, Banerjee said, “More water will come. There will be more waterlogging. There is high tide in the Ganga river from Mahalaya. Where will we pump out the water? There is no place to go, it will again have to go to the Ganga only. Where will we send this water? It is full of Bihar and UP’s water.”
Appealing for empathy from the private sector, she said, “I would implore all private sector workers to also not come to work, calamities affect all equally.
“The Union government has cut our money through GST, and all our funds are going to deal with these calamities,” Banerjee said.
