The city received its first monsoon downpour this season, leaving several parts of Calcutta waterlogged till late Friday.
Among the worst-affected stretches were Northern Park in Bhowanipore, parts of Amherst Street, and sections of VIP Road near Teghoria and Haldiram’s.
Parts of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital were also inundated during the day. Patient families were seen pushing stretchers through the waterlogged premises — a distressing scene that once again highlighted the condition of public healthcare infrastructure in the state.
The Met office recorded 51mm of rain in Alipore between 8.30pm on Thursday and 8.30pm on Friday, of which 48mm fell between 8.30am and 8.30pm on Friday.
In Met classification, 60mm or more in 24 hours is considered heavy rainfall.
Several areas received higher rainfall than Alipore, the city’s official rain gauge. Dum Dum recorded 64mm between 8.30am and 5.30pm, while Uluberia in Howrah received 111mm in the same period.
The showers brought relief from heat and humidity, with the sun barely visible through the day. The maximum temperature dropped to 29° Celsius, about 5° below normal.
In the morning, water levels rose above shin level in several areas, including Sukeas Street, Amherst Street, College Street, Central Avenue and Camac Street.
In Salt Lake, areas around Karunamoyee, the National Institute of Homoeopathy, PNB Island and the CGO complex were also waterlogged.
Sources in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) said more than 40 suction machines were deployed. The accumulated water was pumped into tankers with a capacity of up to 15,000 litres and discharged into drainage lines in unaffected areas.
A KMC official said: “We had no reports of waterlogging beyond late afternoon except from Amherst Street and Northern Park. New sewer lines are being laid and drainage pumping stations are under construction in those areas, which affected drainage.”
Nearly 100m of Rashbehari Avenue outside Kalighat Metro station was also waterlogged along the kerb, forcing pedestrians to wade through. “It was almost impossible to reach the pavement from the road. My shoes were ruined,” said one commuter.
VIP Road, near Teghoria and Haldiram’s, had long traffic snarls during peak evening hours. In several stretches, water reached up to half the height of vehicles.
Officials in the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation said drainage systems along parts of VIP Road had been damaged due to construction work for the New Garia-Airport Metro (Orange) line.
“Hidco has been asked to restore and rebuild the drainage network,” a Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation official said.
The Met office said rain is likely to continue in thecity through the weekend, though with lower intensity and a narrower spread than on Friday.
The wet spell may continue till Tuesday.
“The seasonal trough at mean sea level from Punjab to Bihar across Haryana and Uttar Pradesh persists. It is the catalyst behind the very heavy rain in north Bengal,” said H.R. Biswas, head of the Regional Meteorological Centre in Alipore.
“The trough is also partially responsible for the widespread showers in south Bengal. The convergence of rain-bearing clouds happened on a larger scale in southBengal than expected,” he said.