The luxury bus that rolled into the gutter on Maniktala Main Road. Picture by Pabitra Das

A tourist bus carrying 60 pilgrims rolled into a deep gutter in which rainwater had accumulated on Maniktala Main Road, under Kankurgachhi railway bridge, on Monday morning, blocking the arterial road and throwing rush-hour traffic into disarray.

Around 11.10 am, while the bus, bringing pilgrims from Ajmer, was crossing the road, it got stuck in the trough of rainwater accumulated along a 50-m stretch of the tram tracks in the middle of the road. Local people alleged that the water had been standing there for over a month.

?The water is nearly five feet deep. Suddenly, the engine started groaning, and I realised that it was the end of the journey,? said Sambhu Pasi, bus driver. He said water had entered the engine and it stopped working.

Soon the situation became chaotic. The panic-stricken pilgrims started shouting. Seeing the stationary vehicle, about 200 local people gathered there. Things came to a head as they set up a road-block for about 30 minutes.

?For the past one-and-a-half months, trams have not been plying. The rainwater that accumulated on the tracks has not been pumped out since then. We are afraid that water may cause an outbreak of either dengue or malaria in the area,? shouted Sona Shi, a local resident who deals in motor parts.

Even after the lightest rain, that stretch turns into a pond and vehicles frequently get stuck in it every monsoon.

Police arrived and with the help of local people, rescued the stranded pilgrims. The ordeal ended around 4 pm and the pilgrims set off for their homes around 4.15 pm in mini-trucks.

?The bus was pulled out of the gutter with the help of a breakdown van,? said Anuj Sharma, deputy commissioner of police (headquarters).

The pilgrims had started for Ajmer on August 23.

The return journey started four days ago. The pilgrims hailed from Ghatakpukur, Bhangar, Kathalia, Narayanpur and Maricha ? all in South 24-Parganas.