Tuesday, 23 September 2025
Tuesday, 23 September 2025
An overnight rainfall of 1,423.2mm across the major neighbourhoods in south Kolkata put a halt to the residents and Durga Puja organisers, many among them have already opened the venue for the pandal hoppers.
The worst affected was Garia Kamdahari with an accumulated rainfall of around 332mm followed by Jodhpur Park 285 mm and Kalighat, the home turf of chief minister Mamata Banerjee, 280.2 mm rainfall was recorded respectively. Four people have reportedly died from electrocultion as per media reports.
The India Meteorological Department’s office at Alipore had recorded 239 mm of rainfall, starting close to midnight that intensified with a steady downpour for close to five hours, which caused the damage.
The Met office forecast on Monday warned of a low-pressure area over the northeast Bay of Bengal that could bring heavy rainfall in several south Bengal districts on Tuesday. To make matters worse for festive-minded Kolkatans another low pressure area is likely to form over the east-central and adjoining north Bay of Bengal in another 48 hours and bring more rains.
As large parts of the city, especially the south lay under water with waterlogged arterial roads and lanes, crawling traffic and fewer cabs, Kolkata’s lifeline the Metro was forced to run truncated services between Dakshineswar and Maidan, with the south entirely cut off.
Metro services were suspended between Shahid Khudiram and Maidan, as the tracks between Tollygunge (Mahanayak Uttam Kumar) and Rabindra Sarobar were under water.
The Metro Railway said in a statement water is being pumped out from the tracks and efforts were on to resume normal services at the earliest.
The situation was no better at the airport. Indigo airlines issued an advisory for the passengers early on Tuesday morning.
“With heavy rainfall and thunderstorms expected over Kolkata we are seeing a chance of delays and slower traffic to and from the airport. While we can’t control the skies, we are doing everything possible to keep your journey steady on the ground. Please check your flight status and consider giving yourself a little cushion of time to reach the airport,” the airlines said in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Social media users reported knee-deep water levels across the city. Many residents even disconnected their electric meters after water reportedly entered their homes. Schools have been ordered to shut down for the day.
For Bengalis returning home, the expectation of a decked-up city fell flat. Stalls under construction collapsed, final-stage preparations for Durga Puja came to a standstill in various areas, and railway lines were left waterlogged.
A social media user, who arrived in Kolkata early morning, hailed the “beautiful welcome” but added that travelling from Howrah to Chinar Park took over 2.5 hours. Many residents said they have never seen such heavy rainfall at the start of Durga Puja.
