A two-hour downpour in the wee hours of Saturday added Calcutta to the list of inundated metros including the national capital Delhi – where the new Parliament building roof leaked – as the monsoon rains spelt woe across large swathes of India.
Among the Calcutta areas that were worst affected by 4am-6am rainfall on Saturday were large parts of Salt Lake extending to the VIP road near Kaikhali as well as the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport.
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The heaviest concentration of rain was largely in the eastern and northern parts of the city.
Many passengers at the Calcutta airport had to take off their shoes and walk through ankle-deep water to board their flights. Some of the passengers shared videos and images on social media from the water-logged airport as they were on the way to board the flights in the morning.
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According to the Met department, Salt Lake aka Bidhannagar received the highest rainfall in that two-hour window, approximately 42 mm, followed by 39 mm in Chingrighata, Topsia 35 mm, Maniktala 33 mm, Tangra 32 mm, Duttabagan 32 mm, Thanthania 24 mm and the lowest at Jodhpur Park, 22 mm.
The Met department has predicted light to moderate rainfall in Calcutta and Howrah for the next seven days, though there is no warning of heavy showers over the city from later on Saturday onwards.
Waterlogged College more, Saltlake. Screengrab
For the rest of Bengal, from Hooghly to up till Cooch Behar, warning of heavy rainfall has been issued with the worst expected at Alipurduar, which has been put on a red alert.
Over the last couple of days a cyclonic circulation over Gangetic West Bengal and Bangladesh has transformed into a low pressure trough over Gangetic West Bengal and adjoining Jharkhand where it has intensified into a depression and the southwest monsoon has been vigorous over South Bengal.
The low pressure is likely to bring heavy rainfall in Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong, Alipurduar and Cooch Behar from Saturday onwards and continue till Monday. An orange warning has been issued for these areas till next Wednesday.
On Friday operations at Andal’s Kazi Nazrul Islam airport in West Burdwan were temporarily suspended as the airport was waterlogged. A flight each from Delhi and Bangalore had to be cancelled. West Burdwan had received over 192mm rainfall since Thursday night.
Water gushed into the airport premises and caused water logging in the operational area, an official said. Several places at the approach road to the airport from the highway were also inundated, an official said.
The body of a man whose car had swept away while crossing a submerged bridge in Asansol was recovered on Saturday morning.
Torrential rains have led to waterlogging in both Paschim Bardhaman and Purba Bardhaman districts.
In Birbhum district, swollen rivers have inundated many temporary bridges. The sanctum sanctorum of Kankalitala Temple in Birbhum has been under water since Thursday. The relentless downpour has caused the Kopai River to flow above the danger mark, leading to the closure of Kankali Temple.
Kankalitala Temple in Birbhum Screengrab
In Salt Lake, the Bidhannagar Municipality deployed pumps to drain out from the IT hub and other areas.
According to state officiais 70,000 cusec of water is being released from the Durgapur Barrage which coupled with more rainfall could lead flooding in the nearby towns and villages.
