A consistent cloud cover and sustained showers throughout the day — that’s how day one of the latest rainy spell unfolded in Kolkata.
Met officials did not rule out the possibility of heavy rain at night and on Tuesday.
“Heavy rain is likely in one or two areas of East Midnapore, North and South 24-Parganas, Kolkata and Howrah on Tuesday,” said Sanjib Bandyopadhyay, deputy director general of IMD, Kolkata.
The city braced for “heavy to very heavy rain” (60mm to 200mm) on Monday, according to a Met bulletin the day before.
But till Monday night, heavy rain spared the city.
Between 8.30pm on Sunday and 8.30pm on Monday, the Met office recorded around 46mm of rain in Alipore.
There was no waterlogging, officials of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation said.
“Our lock gates were open from 2pm to 7pm. But if the rain does not gain intensity drastically at night, it should not be a problem. In addition to 76 pumping stations on high alert, we have deployed portable pumps in low-lying areas,” said an official of the drainage department of the civic body.
According to figures obtained from the pumping stations, Behala Flying Club was among the wettest areas in Kolkata, receiving over 50mm of rain between Monday morning and evening.
Maniktala and Ballygunge got around 31mm and 33mm during the same period, respectively.
The showers lasted throughout the major part of the day and continued till late night in Salt Lake, Dum Dum, Bangur, Lake Town, Rajarhat and New Town.
However, unlike last month, little to no waterlogging was reported from these areas. The civic authorities of these places have not let their guard down.
“We are keeping more than 120 water pumps that have been installed in the worst affected places and have kept teams on standby that can be immediately sent to areas from where waterlogging is reported. We have also cleared the Bagjola canal…,” said NKDA chairman Debashis Sen.
Wednesday, when the city celebrates Lakshmi Puja, is likely to be rainy in Kolkata and surrounding areas, Bandyopadhyay said.
