Kolkata waterlogged after cloudburst; residents hitch rides in pickup trucks to reach destinations

Kolkata, Sep 23 (IANS) A cloudburst at midnight has thrown life out of gear in Kolkata, West Bengal leading to severe waterlogging across the city. Even the usually dependable Metro Railway hasn’t been spared and services between Mahanayak Uttam Kumar and Rabindra Sarobar Metro Stations were suspended early Tuesday due to flooding on the tracks.

Metro officials are working round-the-clock to drain water and restore services, but commuters were left stranded during the busy morning rush.

An IANS team visiting Masterda Surya Sen Metro Station found anxious commuters grappling with the disruption. Many were unaware of the suspension of services and found themselves stuck, with no buses, cabs, or even bike taxis in sight. With limited transport options, some office-goers resorted to unconventional means including pickup trucks to reach their workplaces.

Deepak, another commuter, shared his frustration: “I’m on my way to the office, but it’s extremely difficult. Even bike taxis aren’t running. We have no choice.”

Local resident, Lalit Parida voiced his concern bluntly: “We are facing a lot of problems. No buses, no cabs. It’s chaos.”

Meanwhile, Vicky chose to see the brighter side: “I didn’t know about the waterlogging as I was sleeping. But suddenly when I woke up then I saw news of waterlogging. It reminds me of childhood. There’s inconvenience, but that’s part of life.”

Following overnight heavy rain, which crippled the city, resulting in seven deaths due to electrocution, Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim on Tuesday appealed to people not to venture out of their homes for the day.

The city Mayor said that it will take at least another 12 to 14 hours for the situation to become normal, subject to no rain occurring during that period. However, scattered light rain has been continuing across the city since morning, after a massive downpour since 1 A.M. due to a cloudburst. Over 300 mm of rain was reported till 5 A.M. across the city and suburbs.

"I have never seen this type of rain in my life before. Over 300 mm of rain in 5 hours due to a cloudburst is unprecedented in Kolkata. It is a horrific situation which was never been seen before in the city. This has resulted in overflowing of rivers such as the Hooghly. We opened the lock gates to drain out the water into the river. But the water has backflowed into the city as the rivers are overflowing. This made the situation worse," said Hakim.

He went to KMC headquarters to monitor the situation and give instructions to officials to work on a war footing to bring the situation under control in view of Durga Puja, which officially begins on September 27, while Puja mandaps are scheduled to be opened on Wednesday evening.

Amid record overnight rainfall, Kolkata and its surrounding areas were submerged under knee-deep water on Tuesday, disrupting daily life. Officials reported that at least seven people were electrocuted in the city.

"I would appeal to the people of the city not to go out of their homes today. There are reports of deaths due to electrocution in several places. This is due to a short circuit or electric poles going underwater. We will advise people to stay safe and wait for the situation to improve," said the Kolkata Mayor.

At the same time, he could not give assurance about when the situation would become normal.

"The situation is such that even if there is not much rain for the next few hours, it will take at least 12 to 14 hours for the waterlogging situation in Kolkata to become normal. The lock gate was closed from 12.30 A.M. to 4.00 A.M. today. Unfortunately, during that period there was 250 mm of average rain. This worsened the situation," said Hakim.

--IANS

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