Incessant rain floods Kolkata, toll touches 10

By IANS

Kolkata : With the recovery of two bodies, the death toll in the incessant rainfall in south Bengal touched 10 while boats were pressed into service in large parts of north Kolkata, which remained inundated for the second day Wednesday.


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Mohammed Nausad, 7, and his brother Mohammed Akhtar, 10, drowned in rainwater in Kolkata's twin town Howrah, police said.

The incident took place at Shekpara near Shibpur under the Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC). Residents spotted the bodies floating in the water. The entire area has been waterlogged for the last two days in the heavy spell of rain lashing south Bengal.

On Tuesday, eight deaths were reported from Kolkata and its adjoining districts, including seven after a wall collapse.

The meteorology department regional director G.C. Debnath said more rain was expected.

"There is a possibility of heavy to very heavy rainfall in the next 24 hours since a low pressure over the Bay of Bengal has developed into depression and hovering over Bangladesh," Debnath said.

Boats are being used to supply dry food and drinking water in large parts of north Kolkata, especially in Amherst Street and Sukhia Street areas where ground floor residents are living with murky rainwater inside their rooms. There was no electricity in several areas of the city.

The met office said the city recorded 174.2 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours since 11 a.m. Tuesday.

Train services to and from Kolkata were seriously affected for the second day Wednesday. All flights from the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International airport, however, have been taking off since morning, airport director V.K. Monga told IANS.

Several local trains and long distance trains like the Delhi-bound Toofan Express, Howrah-Ranchi Shatabdi Express and Jodhpur Express were cancelled, railway officials said. Bus services were also disrupted in Kolkata while cars got stranded in every part of the metro.

Resentment against the Left Front-ruled Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has been mounting and people are calling up television channels to vent their ire.

Most of them blame Mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya for not having done enough before the onset of monsoons to mitigate the water logging problems here.

All examinations of the Rabindra Bharati and Calcutta University were cancelled Wednesday, said officials.

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