Heavy rains paralyse normal life in Kolkata

Normal life was affected by heavy rains which lashed the metropolis and its adjacent districts for three hours today.

The north recorded a rainfall of nearly 32 mm and the south and the central parts 21 mm, the met department said.

“The monsoon is active and rain is expected here and in adjacent districts for the next few days,” a met department official said.

The rains, which started at 10:30 am and continued till 1:30 pm, left Central Avenue and M G Road in north Kolkata, Behala in the south and the central business district of BBD Bagh and the road before the state secretariat, Writers’ Buildings, water-logged leading to massive traffic jams.

Commuters and students were left a harassed lot by the water-logging and traffic snarls.

According to railway officials, tracks were water-logged at Howrah station resulting in slow movement of trains.

The rains led a local train on the Circular Railway to be stranded near the BBD Bagh station trapping passengers inside. Fire brigade was called in to rescue them.

“The Circular Railway tracks are under water. An EMU train on way to Princep Ghat station got stranded near BBD Bag. Some passengers are inside the train. We have called in the Fire Brigade to evacuate them,” Eastern Railway sources said.

A diesel locomotive was sent to tow the EMU train, but it could not reach it as the tracks were waterlogged, the sources said.

Three pumps were pressed into service to clear the water from the tracks. Senior railway officials and engineers were at the spot.

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