Why Kolkata is under water after relentless rain
Kolkata experienced devastating waterlogging due to unprecedented torrential rainfall. Seven rain-related deaths were reported. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee blamed inadequate dredging and power utility lapses. The BJP criticised the state government's handling of the situation. The IMD predicts more rain, and the city's drainage system is under scrutiny. The downpour overwhelmed the city's capacity in a few hours.
New Delhi: The city of joy -- Kolkata -- drowned in despair as torrential rainfall lashed it from Monday night into Tuesday. Seven people died in rain-related incidents in Kolkata and its suburbs. Several parts of the city were waterlogged. Waterlogging has thrown traffic out of gear and caused disruptions in suburban rail and Metro services. In several low-lying areas, floodwater entered homes, causing damage to property. Most schools declared a rain holiday on Tuesday.
How the CM and BJP reacted
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee described the incessant rain in Kolkata as "unprecedented”. She said: "I have never seen rain like this. I feel so bad for the people who have lost their lives in the cloudburst. I heard 7–8 people have died due to electrocution by open or unattended wires. It is so unfortunate," news agency PTI quoted Mamata Banerjee as saying to a a Bengali news channel.
Banerjee hit out at the inadequate dredging of the Farakka barrage and pointed to lapses by private power utility CESC (Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation). Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) criticised the Trinamool Congress-led West Bengal government, as it shared visuals from a waterlogged area in Maniktala.
Taking to X, BJP's West Bengal unit wrote: "Durga Pujo celebrations are starting this week. Yet, due to Kolkata’s extremely poor drainage system, Puja pandals are submerged under water. Years of anarchy under the CPM and nearly 15 years of corruption in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation under TMC have forced Bengalis to suffer even during their biggest festival, Durga Puja.”
What did the IMD say
The heavy rainfall, which started on Monday night and continued through Tuesday, is apparently due to a low-pressure area over the northeast Bay of Bengal. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that there is likelihood of a fresh low-pressure system developing over the east-central and adjoining north Bay of Bengal around September 25, which could bring more rain to the region. Kolkata and several south Bengal districts will witness rain until September 26.
As per the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), the southern and eastern parts of the city witnessed the heaviest downpour, with Garia Kamdahari recording 332 mm of rain in just a few hours, followed by Jodhpur Park with 285 mm. Kalighat recorded 280 mm rain, Topsia 275 mm, Ballygunge 264 mm, while Thantania in north Kolkata logged 195 mm.
The weather office has warned that heavy rainfall was expected in Purba and Paschim Medinipur, South 24 Parganas, Jhargram, and Bankura districts until September 24.
What's the reason behind waterlogging
Kolkata Mayor and senior TMC leader Firhad Hakim reportedly said that he has never witnessed such waterlogging in the city. "I have never seen such a situation." What is the reason behind such flooding and deluge?
The IMD figures show that from September 1 to 22, Kolkata received 178.6 mm of rainfall — about 16% below the normal of 213.7 mm for this period. However, between 8.30 am on Monday and 8.30 am on Tuesday, the city received 247.4 mm of rain. What's more, this downpour was concentrated in just a few hours overnight.
The city has received more rain in a few hours than it did in over the first 22 days of September. IMD figures show that in the 24 hours ending 8.30 am on Tuesday, Kolkata recorded 2,663% more rain than its long-term average for the day. Due to this unprecedented rain, the city woke up to the deluge on Tuesday morning.