Very heavy rain paralyses normal life in Kolkata; parts of city inundated

Kolkata | 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.

Water entered many houses and residential complexes in the city as roads went underwater owing to the overnight rain that started past midnight.

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.

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 downpour over some districts of south Bengal, the IMD said.

The IMD said heavy rainfall is likely to occur in Purba Medinipur and Paschim Medinipur, South 24 Parganas, Jhargram and Bankura districts of South Bengal till Wednesday.

It said that another fresh low-pressure area is likely to form over the east-central and adjoining north Bay of Bengal around September 25.

In the wake of heavy overnight rainfall, 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 spokesperson for Metro Railway Kolkata said the decision to halt operations between Shahid Khudiram and Maidan stations was taken in the interest of public safety, as ensuring secure travel remains the top priority.

"Truncated services are being run between Dakshineswar and Maidan stations," he said, adding that normal services are expected to be resumed soon.