Kolkata rain highlights: 10 dead as heaviest downpour in 37 years hits city ahead of Durga Puja festivites

Kolkata rain live updates: As heavy rainfall triggered severe waterlogging, flight cancellations, and tragic electrocution deaths in Kolkata, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday urged political parties not to politicise the crisis. She stressed that the priority must be relief and safety for the people.

"In Kolkata, the situation is compounded by floodwaters flowing in from other states. The operations of DVC, Panchet, and Mayurakshi do not fall under our control, and no funds have been allocated to us for dredging. To those commenting on social media, I urge you not to politicise this crisis," she said.

CM Mamata further said that in BJP-ruled states, when floods and natural calamities struck, no blame game was pursued.

"We, too, could have resorted to that, but politics has its limits, and nature is beyond anyone's control," she added.

(via PTI)

Heavy rainfall in Kolkata disrupted flight operations, with more than 90 cancellations and over 90 delays being reported till evening.

An Airport Operations Control Centre (AOCC) bulletin said that between midnight and 7:30 pm on Tuesday, as many as 42 incoming and 49 outgoing flights were cancelled at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport due to heavy downpour, restricted visibility and poor weather at both Kolkata and outstation destinations.

Additionally, 33 arrivals and 62 departures were delayed, while at least one flight had to be diverted.

Kolkata was left flooded on Tuesday as overnight rain pounded the city, with commuters wading through the waterlogged roads, and air and rail transport services also being affected.

See here: Kolkata deluge in pics

Overnight torrential rainfall affected the normal work at the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday because of the waterlogged streets and erratic internet network.

The secretaries of the three associations of lawyers at the HC jointly wrote to the Acting Chief Justice, requesting that the judges take up only those matters where all the parties to the proceedings are present.

Full services on Kolkata Metro's Blue Line resumed on Tuesday evening after incessant downpour pounded the city, causing severe inconvenience to commuters, officials said.

They said that due to significant waterlogging on the line, services were suspended between Shahid Khudiram and Maidan stations since the morning.

Officials said that full services resumed at 5:38 pm after water accumulated on the track was drained out.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday pointed fingers to the Damodar Valley Corporation and Kolkata's power utility CESC, holding them responsible in part for the distress and suffering that the record-breaking torrential rains brought upon state citizens just days before the Durga Puja festivities.

“The state was already reeling under floods and its rivers and canals filled to capacity on account of the unilateral water release by the DVC. Large volumes of water from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh poured in from the Farakka Barrage which already was crisis-ridden due to lack of dredging (of river beds). On top of that, this massive downpour happened. I am keeping a close watch on the situation through the (Kolkata) mayor and the chief secretary,” she said in a post on X.

At least 10 people were killed as torrential rainfall, among the heaviest in four decades, paralysed Kolkata on Tuesday, disrupting transport, education and everyday lives, news agency PTI reported.

The deluge, 251.4 mm in less than 24 hours, was the highest Kolkata has seen since 1986 and the sixth-highest single-day rainfall in the last 137 years.

Kolkata rain live updates: Showers are likely to continue in the already wet districts in the southern part of West Bengal till Wednesday morning, according to the IMD.

Another similar system is likely to form on September 25 and bring showers to the region, according to the Met office.

Kolkata rain live updates: Workers at pandals across south Kolkata were seen pumping out water through makeshift hoses and drains, fearing damage to decorative structures ahead of the festivities, PTI reported.

"We had worked for three months to build this pandal. Now everything is under water. We are worried the bamboo structure may collapse," said a Durga Puja organiser in Kalighat.

Kolkata rain live updates: Mamata Banerjee says that she will not attend any Durga Puja inaugurations in Kolkata today.

“The inaugurations in the districts will be done virtually. Everyone must remain extremely cautious in the coming days,” she wrote on X.

Kolkata rain live updates: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee says that officials are working everywhere to restore normalcy in the city.

'I have said that from today all government schools will remain closed. Colleges and universities will also be closed for the next two days. Private offices should work from home for the next two days, and government offices too will do the same. Saving lives is the primary task right now," she wrote on X.

Large parts of Kolkata were inundated after the heaviest rain, just two mm short of a cloud burst, in 37 years, battered the city in the early hours of Tuesday, ahead of the Durga Puja, West Bengal’s biggest carnival, beginning over the weekend.

IMD’s Alipore station recorded around 251.4 mm of rain, the highest in the city since August 24, 1988, when Kolkata registered 253 mm of rainfall.

Kolkata rain live updates: On the heavy rain and waterlogging in several parts of Kolkata, West Bengal Minister Shashi Panja says: “There is waterlogging in some parts of Kolkata and some people have lost their lives as well. Kolkata Municipal Corporation is doing its work. CM Mamata Banerjee is taking all possible steps to overcome this situation.”

She also targeted the BJP, according to ANI.

"BJP is just opposing the state government on social media. When there was waterlogging in Delhi and Gurugram, there was no action from the BJP. Today, they are speaking a lot about the situation in Kolkata. We condemn politicisation of such an issue..."

Kolkata rain live updates: With large parts of Kolkata thoroughly inundated and at least seven people electrocuted, a political slugfest broke out on social media between the BJP and the ruling Trinamool Congress. While the BJP posted pictures and videos of waterlogged streets of Kolkata on social media and accused the TMC-run Kolkata Municipal Corporation of indulging in corruption, the ruling party slammed the BJP for "weaponising pain to spread hate".

Kolkata rain live updates: Across Kolkata, vehicles were stranded on major roads, with commuters wading through waist-deep water at several intersections, and Metro services were suspended along a long stretch of the Blue Line.

Traffic was severely disrupted at key junctions such as Park Circus, Gariahat, Behala, and College Street, while long tailbacks were reported on EM Bypass, AJC Bose Road, and Central Avenue. Several smaller lanes in south and central Kolkata were completely impassable.

Commuters reported buses breaking down mid-route, while taxis and app-based cabs either stayed off the roads or charged excessive fares. Many schools declared a holiday as students and staff were unable to navigate the flooded streets. Calcutta University and Jadavpur University also suspended all academic activities for the day.

Office-goers faced considerable difficulties due to disrupted public transport and widespread traffic congestion. Train and Metro services were badly affected, with significant waterlogging reported along the mid-section of the Blue Line (Dakshineswar–Shahid Khudiram), particularly between Mahanayak Uttam Kumar and Rabindra Sarobar stations, leading to a suspension of services along this stretch.

Kolkata rain live updates: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee described the downpour as "unprecedented", criticising inadequate dredging of the Farakka barrage and lapses by private power utility CESC, while urging people to stay indoors for their safety.

"I have never seen rain like this. I feel so bad for the people who have lost their lives in the cloudburst. I heard 7–8 people have died due to electrocution by open or unattended wires. It is so unfortunate… Their families must all be given jobs by the CESC. I am saying this clearly. We will also do whatever is possible to help," Banerjee told a Bengali news channel.

Heavy overnight rainfall brought Kolkata to a standstill on Tuesday, even as the city was preparing for its biggest festival, Durga Puja, scheduled to begin later this week.

Kolkata rain live updates: IndiGo Airlines issued a travel advisory for passengers, noting that heavy rainfall in Kolkata had affected some routes in the city.

Kolkata airport officials reported that only one flight, operating between Pune and Kolkata, was diverted to Bhubaneswar at 3 am, while all other flights were functioning normally.

The advisory highlighted that the downpour had caused temporary road blockages and diversions on certain routes.

Passengers were urged to check their flight status before travelling to the airport and to allow extra time for their journey due to potential slow-moving traffic and waterlogging.

Kolkata rain live updates: Amid heavy rain and widespread waterlogging in Kolkata, operations at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport were badly disrupted on Tuesday, with 30 flights cancelled and 42 delayed, ANI reported, citing a Kolkata airport official.

Kolkata rain live updates: Amid severe disruption to public life caused by unprecedented overnight rainfall across Kolkata and other districts of south Bengal, the West Bengal government on Tuesday announced that Puja holidays in state-run schools would begin two days earlier than scheduled.

Acting on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s appeal to avoid waterlogged roads to prevent electrocution accidents and her instruction for schools to declare holidays or switch to online classes, state education minister Bratya Basu said that all government-run educational institutions would remain shut on September 24 and 25.

Basu wrote on X: "An unprecedented calamity-like situation prevails in the state. In keeping with the advice of the chief minister to offer relief to our students in the current situation and to pre-empt accidents, it has been decided to keep all education institutions closed tomorrow and the day after, that is, on September 24 and 25."

Kolkata rain live updates: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee described the heavy rain in Kolkata as “unprecedented” and lashed out at poor dredging of the Farakka barrage and lapses by private power utility CESC.

Mamata Banerjee appealled to people to stay indoors for their own safety.

"I have never seen rain like this. I feel so bad for the people who have lost their lives in the cloudburst. I heard 7–8 people have died due to electrocution by open or unattended wires. It is so unfortunate… Their families must all be given jobs by the CESC. I am saying this clearly. We will also do whatever is possible to help," news agency PTI quoted Mamata Banerjee telling a Bengali news channel.

Kolkata rain live updates: A fire broke out at a shop in the flooded streets of Mandeville Gardens in Gariahat area of Kolkata on Tuesday afternoon. Firefighting operations were underway.

State minister and Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim has also reached the spot.

Kolkata rain live updates: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hit out at the Trinamool Congress-led West Bengal government, sharing visuals from a heavily waterlogged area in Maniktala after heavy rain.

“Durga Pujo celebrations are starting this week. Yet, due to Kolkata’s extremely poor drainage system, Puja pandals are submerged under water. Years of anarchy under the CPM and nearly 15 years of corruption in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation under TMC have forced Bengalis to suffer even during their biggest festival, Durga Puja,” BJP's West Bengal unit wrote on X.

Kolkata rain live updates: Heavy overnight rain left large parts of Kolkata waterlogged on Tuesday, as the city prepared for Durga Puja. At least seven people died of electrocution in rain-hit areas, officials confirmed.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called the downpour “unprecedented”, as key areas like Jadavpur, Baghajatin, Salt Lake, and Golf Green were submerged in knee-deep water. The flooding brought traffic, public transport, and daily life to a standstill.

Kolkata rain live updates: Amid heavy rain and waterlogging in Kolkata, IndiGo and Air India issued advisories urging passengers to plan extra time for travel to the airport.

IndiGo posted on X, "Travel Advisory. Heads up, #Kolkata travellers! Due to today’s downpour, several roads across #Kolkata are currently blocked or experiencing slow movement. Please allow extra time, take an alternate route if possible, and check your flight status on our website or app before leaving for the airport. Our teams are working to keep things on track and support your journey. Thank you for continued trust and patience."**

Air India cautioned, “Persistent and heavy rain may impact flights to and from Kolkata today. Please check your flight status at https://airindia.com/in/en/manage/flight-status.html before leaving for the airport and allow extra time for your journey due to traffic and waterlogging.”

Kolkata rain live updates: Howrah station yard, Sealdah South station yard, Chitpur North Cabin, and different car sheds were also waterlogged due to the heavy rains, according to a press release by the Eastern Railway (ER).

The release by the Eastern Railway stated, "Following torrential rains for a long duration last night, waterlogging has been observed over Howrah station yard, Sealdah South station yard, Chitpur North Cabin, different car sheds at different places of Sealdah yard.