7 dead; overnight rain leaves parts of Bengal deluged
Kolkata/ Darjeeling: Overnight heavy rainfall wreaked havoc in several parts of Bengal inundating various stretches within the city and also in the districts; disrupting rail and road traffic with at least seven people being killed across the state in separate incidents of electrocution and due to the collapse of mud houses on Friday.
This had led to the cancellation of 12 long-distance trains in the Howrah division. Due to incessant rain, there were water-loggings in various yards, including Howrah, prompting the officials to cancel 12 long-distance trains scheduled to leave Howrah on Friday. A senior Railway official said two trains — 02834 Howrah-Ahmedabad Special and 02821 Howrah Chennai Special — scheduled to leave from Howrah in the intervening night of July 29-30 remained cancelled. The other trains, scheduled to leave from Howrah Station on July 30, were also cancelled.
The Regional Meteorological Centre said that the intensity of rainfall in Kolkata and other adjoining districts will reduce in the next 24 hours but there will be heavy showers in Purulia, West Burdwan, Bankura and East Burdwan. An orange alert has been issued in these districts.
In North Bengal, Darjeeling and Kalimpong will receive heavy to very heavy rainfall while Cooch Behar and Alipurduar will witness heavy rainfall. Light rain has been predicted in Kolkata and adjoining districts.
Trains cancelled also include 02096 Howrah-CSMT (Mumbai) Special, 02517 Howrah-Titlagarh Special, 02703 Howrah Secunderabad Special, 02087 Howrah-Puri Special, 08011 Howrah-Ahmedabad- Adra-Chakradharpur/Bokaro Steel City Special.
Rainfall in the Hills triggered multiple landslides resulting in the death of two persons and many others injured in different areas of Kalimpong that witnessed heavy rainfall since Thursday afternoon.
In the wee hours of Friday, a landslip occurred at the ITDCL rail construction tunnel of the Sevok Rungpo Rail Project at Mamkhola near Rungpo under the Kalimpong Police Station. A labour camp was washed away in the boulders falling resulting in the inundation of a rivulet. The National Highway 10 to Sikkim experienced multiple landslides, including one at 29th Mile and the other at Melli. However, the debris was cleared opening up a single lane to traffic thus making the road operational. Landslides were experienced in many other places in Kalimpong Municipal area and in Kalimpong 1 block. A number of roads were blocked in these areas owing to the slides.
"Two persons died in the incident, two others are injured and ailing at the Kalimpong District Hospital while three others are still missing. Sniffer dogs were brought in from Siliguri along with a Disaster Management Team to conduct search and rescue operations for the missing," said R Vimala, District Magistrate, Kalimpong.
In North 24-Parganas' Bongaon, a mother and her son died after being electrocuted. Locals said the son went to the rooftop to put some clothes for drying and he touched a metal rope that had already become electrocuted. The victim's mother came to save him and got electrocuted in the process. Both were rushed to the hospital where they were declared brought dead.
A 35-year-old man from Dasnagar in Howrah was electrocuted when he entered his submerged meter box. He was pronounced dead after being rushed to a nearby hospital.
A mud house collapsed and fell on a 65-year-old man in Bankura's Simlipal. He later died from severe injuries. In a similar incident in Murshidabad's Raghunathgunj, a mud wall collapsed on an elderly person who eventually died in the hospital. In West Midnapore's Garbeta, a 55-year-old woman died after a mud wall fell on her.
On Sree Mohan Lane under Mudiali in Kolkata, a portion of an old house collapsed. Around six members were rescued. A boundary wall of an adjacent nursing home was also damaged in the incident.
Several stretches in the city, including Central Avenue, Exide More, Park Street, Hospital Road were inundated disrupting vehicular movement. Patipukur underpass in Dum Dum went under water. A private bus of 47B route almost drowned. However, the passengers were safely evacuated. Tarak Singh, Member, Board of Administrator, in charge of Drainage department of KMC, visited various lock gates. "No waterlogging in the city has happened for a long time. Accumulated water has been drained out in most places," said Singh.
Various parts of South Bengal were inundated. The water level in various rivers rose, including Darkeswar, Gandheswari, Shali. Water-logging was reported from several stretches in the Indus block of Bankura. Some parts of the Jangalmahal were disconnected from Bankura with road connectivity disrupted. Water-logging occurred in some parts of North 24-Parganas, Howrah. Embankments along the Shilabati river were damaged. People in more than 50 villages are apprehensive that the areas of Chandroka II block may get flooded.
