Heavy rains continue in south Bengal; trains cancelled, flights delayed

While some trains had to be cancelled, several others had to be rescheduled or their origin stations changed. At least 16 flights got delayed at the Kolkata airport

Heavy rains, triggered by a cyclonic circulation, continued to lash Kolkata and its surrounding areas for the second consecutive day even as large areas remained inundated.

Commuters make their way along a waterlogged street after heavy rainfall in Kolkata on September 20. (AFP)

While some trains had to be cancelled, several others had to be rescheduled or their origin stations changed. At least 19 outgoing flights and 13 incoming flights were delayed at the airport in Kolkata by Monday night because of the heavy rains, airport authorities said.

On Monday, Kolkata had received 142mm rain in 24 hours by 8.30am, its highest in 14 years. The last time it rained so heavily in a single day in September was on September 25, 2007 when the city registered 174mm rain then.

Till 8.30am on Tuesday, Kolkata received 60.6mm rain in the last 24 hours. The rain was, however, pretty intense in the surrounding areas with many stations in North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas receiving more than 100mm of rain for the second consecutive day. Canning in South 24 Parganas received 110mm rain in 24 hours till Monday morning and 115mm rain between Monday and Tuesday morning. Likewise Salt Lake, Dum Dum and Diamond Harbour all received at least 100mm rain for the second consecutive day.

While at least three trains under the Eastern Railway originating from Kolkata station had to be cancelled, trains such as Kolkata-Jammu Tawi special and Kolkata-Amritsar special had to be rescheduled. Three trains had to be shortly terminated, while one each had to be diverted and its origin station changed. The circular railway that serves Kolkata also had to be cancelled.

Many trains under South Eastern Railway too, such as the Howrah-Puri special, Howrah-Hyderabad special, Howrah-Yesvantpur special, Howrah-Ranchi special had to be originated from other stations such as Shalimar, Santragachi and Kharagpur due to waterlogging at Howrah.

“There were some delays in flights on Monday. That was, however, not because of waterlogging. Flights got delayed because of an inclement weather. On Tuesday, things seem to be better and no delay has been reported till 11am,” said an airport official.

The India Meteorological Department said the intensity of rain is expected to decline in Kolkata on Tuesday even though heavy rain may lash some of the districts in the western parts of the state, such as Bankura, Purulia, Jhargram, Purba Medinipur, Pashchim Medinipur and some parts of South 24 Parganas.