Kolkata rain havoc: Mayor appeals to people to stay home after 7 electrocution deaths

Kolkata, Sep 23 (IANS) Following overnight heavy rain, which crippled the city, resulting in seven deaths due to electrocution, Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim on Tuesday appealed to people not to venture out of their homes for the day.

The city mayor said that it will take at least another 12 to 14 hours for the situation to become normal, subject to no rain occurring during that period. However, scattered light rain has been continuing across the city since morning, after a massive downpour since 1 a.m. due to a cloudburst. Over 300 mm of rain was reported till 5 a.m. across the city and suburbs.

"I have never seen this type of rain in my life before. Over 300 mm of rain in 5 hours due to a cloudburst is unprecedented in Kolkata. It is a horrific situation which was never been seen before in the city. This has resulted in overflowing of rivers such as the Hooghly. We opened the lock gates to drain out the water into the river. But the water has backflowed into the city as the rivers are overflowing. This made the situation worse," said Hakim.

He went to KMC headquarters to monitor the situation and give instructions to officials to work on a war footing to bring the situation under control in view of Durga Puja, which officially begins on September 27, while puja mandaps are scheduled to be opened on Wednesday evening.

Amid record overnight rainfall, Kolkata and its surrounding areas were submerged under knee-deep water on Tuesday, disrupting daily life. Officials reported that at least seven people were electrocuted in the city.

"I would appeal to the people of the city not to go out of their homes today. There are reports of deaths due to electrocution in several places. This is due to a short circuit or electric poles going underwater. We will advise people to stay safe and wait for the situation to improve," said the Kolkata Mayor.

At the same time, he could not give assurance about when the situation would become normal.

"The situation is such that even if there is not much rain for the next few hours, it will take at least 12 to 14 hours for the waterlogging situation in Kolkata to become normal. The lock gate was closed from 12.30 a.m. to 4.00 a.m. today. Unfortunately, during that period there was 250 mm of average rain. This worsened the situation," said Hakim.

Mayor Member in the Council of KMC (drainage and sewerage), Tarak Singh said, "I have never seen such rain in Kolkata during Durga Puja. Our system has been working since last night. Several culverts have already started working. But some culverts could not be made to work in time. As a result, it is taking some time for the water to drain.".

A source in the Kolkata Municipality said that a ‘red alert’ has already been issued in the city due to excessive rainfall. Because the lock gate will have to be closed again at noon due to high tide in the river Hooghly. The lock gates will open again at 4 p.m.

According to an official of the drainage department, as per the weather forecast, there is a possibility of heavy rain in Kolkata again while the lock gates are closed. "If that happens, we may have to worry about the waterlogging situation in Kolkata again," said the official.

Calcutta University postponed all the exams which were scheduled for the day due to heavy rain and a waterlogging situation.

Meanwhile, several car sheds, including Howrah Yard, Sealdah South Yard, and Chitpur North Cabin, have been submerged in water due to overnight rain. Efforts are being made to pump out the water. However, as the rain has not stopped completely, water was accumulating on the railway lines. Several long-distance trains from Sealdah were cancelled in the morning due to the rain. Up Hazarduari Express and Sealdah-Jangipur Express have been cancelled for the day. The routes of local trains have also been shortened.

Due to waterlogging on the railway tracks near Sealdah, services on the main Bangaon and Hasnabad lines were disrupted. Trains on the downline are not even able to reach Dumdum Junction station. Trains on the Mainline also got stuck before reaching Dumdum station.

On the other hand, the passengers of the Howrah division were also affected by the continuous rain. In this situation, the services of Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express, Howrah-Gaya Vande Bharat Express, and Howrah-Jamalpur Vande Bharat Express have been disrupted. Apart from this, the services of Black Diamond Express, Ganadevat Express and Ranchi-bound Shatabdi Express were also disrupted.

Metro services have also been hit by overnight rain. Water has accumulated between Mahanayak Uttam Kumar and Rabindra Sarovar stations on the Blue Line of Kolkata Metro. Due to this, metro services from Shahid Khudiram to Maidan have been suspended for the time being. Metro is running on a broken route from Dakshineswar to Maidan station.

--IANS

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