Kolkata Metro authorities on Monday blamed sudden water ingress caused by heavy downpour for the morning suspension of services between key stations on the North-South corridor — throwing thousands of commuters off track at the start of the workweek.
“Due to the heavy downpour, parts of Central Avenue were under knee-deep water this morning. This water suddenly started to enter the tunnel between Central and Chandni Chowk stations around 08.30 hrs. As the Motorman detected accumulation of water on tracks in this section and informed the Central Control, Metro services were suspended on this stretch from 09.05 hrs. in order to ensure passengers' safety,” the Metro Railway said in a statement.
Monday morning was the second such disruption in less than a week. On Saturday evening, services were affected when a burst pipe flooded a concrete drainage canal between Jatin Das Park and Kalighat stations on the Dum Dum-bound line. The incident led to a suspension of metro services between 3:40pm and 4:35pm.
Truncated services were run between Maidan and Kavi Subhash in the south and Girish Park to Dakshineswar in the north on Monday.
“Metro engineers and staff immediately reached the spot after taking the power block and started the repairing work. Water was pumped out and the source of ingress points were sealed. Normal services resumed at 10.58 hrs,” the statement added. A detailed investigation will be carried out after commercial hours.
The problem was traced back to Central Avenue, where clogged drains and persistent rain left the road flooded. The water found its way into the underground tunnel network, leading to flooding of tracks between Central and Chandni Chowk stations — one of the most vital stretches of the East-West commute.
The result was a manic Monday for office-goers. Stations like Esplanade, Shyambazar, Park Street and Central saw huge build-ups of passengers as services ground to a halt. Announcements of the disruption led many to turn to buses, autos and cabs, only to find those too either full or crawling through rain-drenched streets.
A detailed inspection of the affected areas will be conducted on Monday night after daily operations cease.
