Week after Amphan, city hit by gusty winds, rain

Kolkata: Just a week after Cyclone Amphan left untold devastation in several districts of Bengal, Kolkata was on Wednesday struck by yet another round of downpour and winds up to 96 kmph.

The Alipore weather office on Wednesday predicted thunderstorms with lightning and gusty winds in all the districts of South Bengal in the next 48 hours. Kolkata and a number of districts in South Bengal received moderate rainfall on Wednesday evening due to the effect of the nor'wester. A person at Laudoha in Durgapur was killed after being struck by lightning.

The squall, known as "Kalbaisakhi" in local parlance, uprooted several trees in some parts of the city, blocking traffic movement. The nor'wester was accompanied by moderate rain, the IMD said.

Sources in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation said some trees were uprooted in the city due to the effect of the storm. Two trees fell at Jadavpur while another in Shyambazar in North Kolkata. "Our team has already reached the spot and started work for the removal of trees. We hope to finish it by Wednesday night. Some trees have been uprooted in Borough 3 that covers areas of Maniktala, Narkeldanga etc.

"There were thunderstorm activities in Kolkata, North and South 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly and East Burdwan," a senior official of Alipore weather office said.

With the wind speed clocking over 90 km an hour, some also had apprehensions of another cyclonic storm.

But the weather office made it clear that conditions are congenial for a wind blowing from the south-west.

So the weather is not too hot in Kolkata.

The sky was cloudy in the city throughout Wednesday and the minimum temperature recorded was 29.5 degree Celsius.