Torrential rainfall in Kolkata, flight operations severely affected

Following a depression over the Bay of Bengal and Gangetic West Bengal heavy rain lashed across Kolkata and several areas of South West Bengal affecting life.

Rain began at the wee hours of Monday and as the day progressed the intensity grew as well leading vehicles to be kept off road and people remaining indoors on the first day of the week. Alipore Met office said that the depression had affected parts of Odisha and Bangladesh too and situation was likely to remain unchanged in the next 24 hours with wind velocity ranging from 30 to 50 kmph. Till 2.30 pm, Kolkata and adjoining areas received 56 mm of rainfall.

Passengers were seen stranded at the Howrah and Sealdah railway stations and at the airport. While five pairs of EMU locals of Sealdah Division and nine pairs of local trains of Howrah Division had to be cancelled.

Vehicles which plied on Monday moved at a snail’s pace as roads in north, south and central Kolkata remained submerged. Strong winds uprooted trees at different parts of the city such as Park Street, CIT Road, Southern Avenue, Gariahat and Shyambazar. Taxis were few in numbers on the street adding to the woes of commuters.

Many districts including Howrah, Bankura, Burdwan, Purilia and Birbhum too experienced heavy downpour. Areas of Bankura were severed from other districts due to overflowing canals. Fishermen at Sunderbans in North and South 24 Parganas, East and West Midnapore districts were advised not to venture out into the sea owing to the strong wind. Launch services from Kolkata and Howrah too were suspended.

There had been some reports of injury owing to fallen trees but no deaths had been reported. 

Overnight rains and gusty winds led to the cancellation and rescheduling of at least 95 flights from the NSC Bose International Airport (NSCBIA) today, a senior official said.

Thirteen flights were cancelled and 82 were rescheduled, a senior Airports Authority of India (AAI) official said. Eight flights scheduled to depart from Kolkata and five flights which were slated for arrival had been cancelled till 3.30 pm, the senior official said. At least 47 incoming flights and 35 outgoing flights were rescheduled, the official said.

The situation will change only if the weather conditions improve, he said. The continuous rain, which started late last night, not only affected flights but also resulted in waterlogging in and around the airport. NSCBIA Director Atul Dikshit told PTI that while some domestic flights from the city to other destinations were cancelled due to the weather, some incoming flights were diverted to different airports after they failed to land here amid gusty winds.

National carrier Air India said five of its incoming flights could not land at the airport here because of the strong winds and were diverted to other destinations. However, the departure of all morning flights from here was normal till 8.00 am and there was no cancellation of flights by AI till then, an AI spokesperson said.

While Delhi-Kolkata and Delhi-Mumbai flights were diverted to Delhi and Ranchi respectively, a flight from Port Blair was diverted to Agartala. A flight from Silchar to Kolkata had to land at Guwahati and the flight from Agartala to Kolkata had to return, the spokesperson added. Only a flight from Hyderabad to Kolkata could land here this morning, he said. Some private airlines also cancelled flights, airport sources said.

There was waterlogging on the approach road in front of the ramp that leads to the terminal's departure area as well as in the operational area, an airline official said, adding that the water was ankle-length deep. Sources said an uprooted tree had blocked the approach road to the airport's terminal building. Traffic snarls as a result of waterlogging in various parts of the city worsened the situation, with passengers getting delayed in reaching the airport.

People who landed at Kolkata airport found it equally difficult to reach their respective destinations, a traffic police officer said.

With PTI inputs