The regional office of Indian Meteorological Department has sounded an alert for the city and other parts of state for heavy to very heavy showers over the next 24 hours.
As Cyclone Komen weakened into a deep depression after hitting the coast of West Bengal, heavy rains lashed the capital and other parts of West Bengal on Saturday morning.
While Kolkata received 133.6 mm of rain till 8 am, major parts of the city remained waterlogged bringing normal life to a grinding halt. Pockets like Muktaram Babu Street, Thanthania, Amherst Street and other parts of South Kolkata saw people wading through knee-deep water.
Train services were hit at Kolkata, Sealdah and Howrah stations and several long distance trains were delayed. Commuters faced a harrowing time reaching their workplace as metro railway services were also hit. Very few buses and taxis plied on the roads.
Owing to the heavy downpour, some schools decided to remain closed on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the regional office of Indian Meteorological Department has sounded an alert for the city and other parts of state for heavy to very heavy showers over the next 24 hours.
The heavy downpour has already caused major destruction in districts like East Midnapore, Birbhum, Malda and Burdwan. The rains have left as many as 50,000 people homeless across the West Bengal. State minister Firhad Hakim has left to visit the flood hit-Hooghly district.
West Midnapore: People wade through the flooded Ghatal- Arambag highway road in West Midnapore district, West Bengal (PTI)
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has asked Kolkata Municipal Corporation councillors and ministers to keep a close tab on the present situation.
On Friday, Mamata said the heavy rains had claimed 39 lives and rescue and relief work was underway. She also announced a compensation Rs 4 lakh for the kin of those who died. Banerjee said the deaths were caused either by lightning, wall collapse, electrocution, snake bite or drowning since the onset of heavy to very heavy rains.
The Chief Minister had cut short her London trip to monitor the flood situation in the state.
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