Kolkata Weather Today News Live Updates: Day after at least 10 people were killed in Kolkata following heavy overnight rainfall that flooded streets, railway tracks, and Metro tracks, the city has started limping back to normalcy. Even as the Met department ruled out heavy rain in the city in next 24 hours, several areas continue to be waterlogged, with efforts to pump out water from low-lying areas underway.
Life upended in rain fury: Among the 10 dead in the rain-related incidents, most were electrocuted when they stepped out for their routine duties in the morning after overnight rains. 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.
Third-highest September rainfall: Tuesday’s 251.4mm rainfall in 24 hours marked the city’s third-highest single-day rainfall in September, after 369.6 mm on September 28, 1978, and 259.5 mm on September 26, 1986. Considering all-time records throughout the year, this spell of rain is the city’s sixth-highest single-day total ever recorded.
Ahead of Durga Puja in Kolkata, idols are seen wrapped in plastic sheets amid rainfall prediction in the city. Kolkata was battered by heavy rainfall since Monday, leading to several inundation in several pockets of Kolkata. (Express photos by Partha Paul)
Kolkata is slowly returning to normalcy, a day after heavy overnight rainfall caused widespread flooding, claiming the lives of at least 11 people and disrupting daily life.
However, the wet spell is expected to continue for the rest of the week. A new low-pressure area is predicted to form over the Bay of Bengal around September 25 (Thursday) and intensify into a depression by September 26 (Friday), which could bring more rain to the region, the IMD said.
Read full bulletin here
While the flood waters have receded from some pockets of Kolkata, it has left behind piles of garbage and dirt. (Express photos by Partha Paul)
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday announced Rs 2 lakh as compensation and a job for the next in kin of those who died of electrocution in Kolkata following torrential rain.
Read full report here
A day after torrential rain battered Kolkata, Indian Secular Front MLA Naushad Siddiqui on Wednesday sought an inquiry by the Calcutta High Court into the deaths due to electrocution in Kolkata, the precautionary measures by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and the West Bengal government, and the compensation for the families of those who died.
Read full report here
After West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday held Kolkata’s power utility CESC responsible for the death of nine people from electrocution amid torrential rains that led to waterlogging in large parts of the metropolis, the CESC asserted that the fatalities were unrelated to its distribution network.
“We have investigated eight such cases. We found that in five of these cases, the deaths were caused by electrocution from faulty wiring within homes or a factory. The rest of the three cases happened outside. Two of them were due to electrocution from touching street light poles. These street light poles are generally not owned or maintained by CESC. The other case was from a kiosk near a traffic signal,” the CESC said in a statement.
According to IMD, The city narrowly missed being hit by a cloudburst (100mm in an hour) in the wee hours on Tuesday. Multiple favourable weather factors locally led to short but an intense spell. “The city of Kolkata received 251.4 mm of rainfall, a figure recorded at 8:30 am on September 23,” said an official of Indian Meteorological Department (IMD).
“Although the highest hourly rainfall was 98 mm, it did not meet the criteria for a cloudburst, which typically requires more than 100 mm per hour,” said a senior official of the IMD.
The heavy rain has also led to a warning for fishermen, advising them not to venture into the sea along the West Bengal-Odisha coast until September 27 due to rough sea conditions and squally weather. “Residents are also advised to avoid taking shelter under trees or electric poles and to be cautious of lightning strikes,” read an IMD alert.
The Met department has warned of continuing rainfall over Odisha till September 26 but the rain may take a break for now over West Bengal and possibly not dampen the upcoming Durga Puja festivities.
Durga Puja Committees that had been working round the clock to finish intricate installations, lighting and rehearsals found weeks of effort ruined within hours.The water which entered the pandals damaged plywood planks, cloth, designs and decorations in and around.Electric appliances, lighting arrangements were also damaged due to the water.
At Bosepukur Talbagan, organisers said the pandal remained submerged for hours after nearly five hours of relentless rain, forcing volunteers to shut electrical supply and begin emergency pumping operations.
Hatibagan Nabin Pally, located in a low-lying lane, reported extensive damage. “There is significant waterlogging inside and around the pandal. Parts of the walls have come off. We had opened for a preview show and planned a short closure before reopening on the 25th, now we don’t know what we will do,” said Amitava Roy, general secretary.
Overnight torrential rain affected normal work at the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday owing to waterlogged streets and erratic internet network due to the deluge in the city.
The secretaries of the three associations of lawyers at the high court jointly wrote to the Acting Chief Justice requesting that the Judges take up only those matters where all the parties to the proceedings are present.
The Calcutta High Court Bar Association, Bar Library Club and the Incorporated Law Society of Calcutta also requested that the matters which cannot be taken up due to the absence of any of the parties to the proceedings may retain their position in the list for hearing of petitions.
Uday Shankar Chatterjee, a practising lawyer at the high court, said that he could not reach owing to the heavy waterlogging of roads and had to return home midway. — PTI
Unprecedented rain has led the state Education Department to prepone Durga Puja vacations. To prevent any untoward incident, the West Bengal government on Tuesday announced that Puja holidays in all state-run educational institutions will begin two days ahead of schedule.
Read full article here
The overnight downpour – among the heaviest in nearly four decades – led to widespread flooding that paralysed Kolkata and left at least eight people dead by electrocution from unsecured live cables in the city.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that the government would ensure a job to the next of kin of the victims and said she has urged the CESC to pay additional compensation of Rs 5 lakhs each.
"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 will not modernise here? They should send people to the field and fix this," said Banerjee.
Read full article here
A 251.4 mm of rainfall on Monday night forced Kolkata to come to a standstill and at least seven people died while several streets were left waterlogged. Historically, this ranks as the third-highest single-day rainfall for September in the city, behind 369.6 mm on September 28, 1978, and 259.5 mm on September 26, 1986. When considering all-time records regardless of the month, the recent rainfall is the city’s sixth-highest single-day total ever recorded.
Read full article here
With large parts of Kolkata thoroughly inundated, public life brought to its knees and at least seven people electrocuted in the wake of widespread and torrential overnight downpour, a political slugfest broke out on social media between the BJP, the state's prime opposition, and its ruling dispensation, the Trinamool Congress.
While the saffron party took to its social media handles to post pictures and videos of waterlogged streets of Kolkata and accused the TMC-run Kolkata Municipal Corporation of indulging in corruption, the ruling party slammed the BJP for "weaponising pain to spread hate". — PTI
Flood water fills up inside a Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata as overnight rain cripples the city. Torrential rain has battered Kolkata since Monday night, leading severe water-logging in several parts of the city. At least seven people have died in the city and its suburbs. (Express photo by Partha Paul)
Heavy torrential rain in Kolkata on Tuesday severely disrupted air travel, leading to the cancellation of at least 30 flights and significant delays in several others, officials said.
The relentless downpour caused massive flooding across the city, leaving thousands of commuters stranded and severely affecting transport services.
At Kolkata's Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, multiple flights were grounded due to adverse weather conditions, with authorities citing incessant rains and restricted visibility as key safety concerns. — PTI
Faced with a near breakdown of public life in the wake of an unprecedented overnight rains in recent memory in Kolkata and other south Bengal districts, the West Bengal government on Tuesday declared Puja holidays in state-run educational institutions two days ahead of schedule.
Following up on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's appeal to stay off waterlogged roads to prevent accidents by electrocution and instructing holidays in schools or shift to online classes, state education minister Bratya Basu announced that all government-run education institutions would remain closed on September 24 and 25. — PTI
Heavy rainfall throughout the night has paralysed the transport system in Kolkata, severely disrupting movement of vehicles and train services. Several local trains, connecting the city with its suburbs and neighbouring districts, have been cancelled and a few diverted, due to waterlogging on railway tracks.
Torrential rain paralysed Kolkata on Tuesday, leaving large swathes of the city waterlogged, and at least seven people died of electrocution, prompting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to describe 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 Centre has cut our money through GST, and all our funds are going to deal with these calamities," Banerjee said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee ordered all state government schools to start Durga Puja holidays from today, and she has appealed to private schools to keep them closed for the next two days.
Confirming it, the Education Minister Bratya Basu said, "Following the advice of the Honorable Chief Minister, to provide relief to students and protect them from accidents during this disaster, it has been decided to keep all schools and higher education institutions in the state closed tomorrow and the day after, i.e., 24 and 25 September."
"During this disaster period, all teachers and education staff associated with education are requested to carry out essential tasks from home. Since the official Puja holidays begin on 26 September, the Durga Puja holidays will effectively start from tomorrow. I extend my best wishes and congratulations to everyone for the upcoming Sharadiya festival. My deep and heartfelt condolences go out to the families of the fellow citizens who lost their lives in this disaster," he added.
Eastern Railways cancelled several trains in the Howrah Division due to heavy rainfall and subsequent waterlogging on the tracks. The following EMU local trains have been cancelled today:
Calcutta University Tuesday issued a notice, saying departmental examinations have been postponed due to the weather conditions.
Meanwhile, Jadavpur University has also cancelled all academic activities and meetings for the day.
The United States Consulate in Kolkata issued an advisory following heavy rains and flooding. The US High Commission said that it will be closed today and all consular services and appointments are cancelled.
Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar Tuesday expressed grief over the deaths due to electrocution after incessant overnight rain in Kolkata.
In a post on X, he urged the state government, electricity distribution company, and Kolkata Municipal Corporation to take urgent measures — from disconnecting power in waterlogged zones to speeding up drainage and rescue operations — to prevent further casualties.
"I appeal to the state government to immediately provide all necessary assistance to the affected families. At the same time, I also urge the electricity distribution company to quickly disconnect power in waterlogged areas and carry out rescue operations in collaboration with the administration. Additionally, I request the Kolkata Municipal Corporation to take swift and effective measures to drain the accumulated water. In this critical situation, I strongly call upon the state administration to take immediate action on a war footing to ensure the safety of the public," he wrote on X.
Amid widespread waterlogging after incessant overnight rain, Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim is overseeing the situation from the KMC Control Room Tuesday.
Speaking with the reporters, Firhad Hakim said, "This kind of water, I haven't seen since I was a child. I haven't seen this kind of water where our neighbourhood gets flooded, because our neighbourhood is next to the Adiganga. So the natural flow of water goes into the Adiganga."
"Now, many poor people who live on the streets or in low-lying areas, many school buildings have been opened for them, and they are staying there. We have been told by the Corporation and the police station to arrange for food. But if there is no more rain, I hope the water will recede by tonight," he added.
Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram
