Kolkata: A freak hailstorm hit the city early on Monday morning, causing heavy damage throughout the state amounting to crores of rupees. Kolkata and its suburbs faced huge damage due to trees being uprooted and electrical lines getting torn.
Several trees were uprooted in 25 places across the city. As a result, traffic on Monday morning had slowed down in large areas. In several places, trees were uprooted and fell on vehicles in multiple locations. In several places, traffic had been diverted as major roads were blocked. In some parts of the city, traffic was obstructed due to waterlogging.
During the storm, a tree got uprooted on the northern flank of Rashbehari connector near its crossing with Bakultala. The East-bound
traffic movement on Southern Avenue from Sarat Bose Road was suspended as a tree got uprooted and blocked the road.
Vehicular movement on Baroj Road was also suspended as another tree was uprooted blocking the way. Traffic movement on Lovers Lane was partially obstructed between Casuarina Avenue and KP Road, due to a broken down tree branch.
On Monday morning, a portion of the boundary wall of a housing complex at Prince Bakhtiar Road in Charu Market area collapsed, resulting in complete blockage of the road, even for pedestrians.
Kolkata Police and its Disaster Management Group (DMG), along with Kolkata Municipal Corporation, worked jointly for quick removal of the uprooted trees.
Several trees were also uprooted due to the storm in and around Salt Lake, creating traffic snarls early on Monday morning. Several trees fell on the boundary walls of multiple office premises at Sector V. The stalls at the ongoing Saras Mela at Central Park Mela Ground in Salt Lake were damaged as well.