At least 10 people died, mostly due to electrocution in rain-hit Kolkata, officials said, as heavy overnight rainfall caused widespread waterlogging, halting traffic, public transport and daily life across the city on Tuesday.
Heavy rain since past midnight flooded roads and residential complexes across the city, leaving vehicles stranded for hours in knee-to-waist-deep water at major intersections, including Park Circus, Gariahat, Behala, and College Street.
The deluge - 251.4 mm in less than 24 hours - was the highest since 1986 and the sixth-highest single-day rainfall in the last 137 years, only behind the record 369.6 mm in 1978, 253 mm in 1888, and 259.5 in 1986.
Kolkata Mayor and state Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim told PTI that most parts of the city were waterlogged and teams of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) were working around the clock to drain out the water.
"Our officers are working hard. But the canals and rivers are full of water and every time water is drained out, more is getting inside the city. We fear that the high tide, may not help in our efforts to drain out the excessive water from the city. It would be around 10 PM when the situation could be expected to improve," Hakim said.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee described the downpour as "unprecedented" and lashed out at poor dredging of Farakka and "lapses" by power utility Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation (CESC).
"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," she said.
Traffic movement was severely affected across most arterial roads, with vehicles stranded for hours in knee-to-waist-deep water at key intersections such as Park Circus, Gariahat, Behala, and College Street.
Long traffic snarls were reported on EM Bypass, AJC Bose Road and Central Avenue, while several smaller lanes in south and central Kolkata were completely cut off due to waist-deep water.
Commuters complained of buses breaking down mid-way, while taxis and app cabs either stayed off the roads or charged exorbitant fares.
Significant waterlogging was reported in the mid-section of the Blue Line (Dakshineswar Shahid Khudiram), particularly between Mahanayak Uttam Kumar and Rabindra Sarobar stations, prompting the immediate suspension of services on this stretch.
A Metro Railway Kolkata spokesperson said in order to ensure passengers' safety, services have been suspended between Shahid Khudiram and Maidan stations since morning hours. "Truncated services are being run between Dakshineswar and Maidan stations," he said, adding that normal services are expected to be resumed soon.
Owing to waterlogging of tracks, train movement in the Sealdah south section has been suspended, while skeleton services are being run in the Sealdah north and main sections, an Eastern Railway official said.
Train services have been partially affected to and from Howrah and Kolkata terminal stations of Eastern Railway as tracks got waterlogged owing to heavy downpour, he said.
Train movement in the Circular Railway line has also been suspended due to waterlogging at Chitpur yard, he added.
Air travel was also severely hit. At least 30 flights were cancelled and 31 others were delayed.
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.
"An unprecedented calamity-like situation prevails in the state. In keeping with the advice of the chief minister to offer relief to our students in the current situation and to pre-empt accidents, it has been decided to keep all education institutions closed tomorrow and the day after, that is, on September 24 and 25," Basu wrote on X.
"It is requested that during this calamity, all teachers and non-teaching staff attached to the education sector should work from home to complete their urgent and unfinished tasks," he said.
Meanwhile, Calcutta University and Jadavpur University have suspended academic activities for now.
The city is bracing for more downpour as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that a low-pressure area over the northeast Bay of Bengal is likely to bring heavy rain in several south Bengal districts.
The intensity of rain was higher in the southern and eastern parts of the city, with Garia Kamdahari recording 332 mm of rain in just a few hours, followed by Jodhpur Park at 285 mm, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) said.
Kalighat recorded 280 mm of rain, Topsia 275 mm, Ballygunge 264 mm, while Thantania in north Kolkata received 195 mm of rain, they added.
The weather office said heavy rainfall is likely to occur in Purba and Paschim Medinipur, South 24 Parganas, Jhargram and Bankura districts in South Bengal till Wednesday. It said another fresh low-pressure area is likely to form over the east-central and adjoining north Bay of Bengal around September 25.
