Residents enjoy respite from heat as rains leave commuters frowning

Heavy shower that lashed the city late on Monday afternoon brought a respite for city residents from the sultry weather which prevailed since morning. Weather experts said that it was the fallout of Roanu that hit Bangladesh on Saturday morning killing 24 people and causing damage to properties and livestock. Alipur Meteorological office had predicted rainfall in Kolkata on Monday along with a rise in temperature.

The city woke up to a sultry morning with intense discomfort. Around noon people were seen buying bottles of cold water from roadside shops. However, around 3pm, the weather had changed and thick black cloud covered the sky. It drizzled for a couple of minutes and then it started raining heavily. The temperature was brought down to 29 degrees Celsius. It rained for nearly one-and-a-half hour. More rainfall is expected in some parts of Gangetic West Bengal in the next 24 hours.

The rain brought a welcome relief but some city roads got waterlogged causing traffic jam due to slow movements of vehicles. Stretches on Shakespeare Sarani, Camac Street and Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road were under ankle to knee deep water. Stretches on Harish Mukherjee Road, Keshab Sen Street, some roads and lanes around Rajabazar were waterlogged. Some trees were uprooted causing traffic jam. 

Workers of Kolkata Municipal Corporation went to the spot and removed the branches after which the normal flow of traffic was restored. The home bound commuters faced inconvenience and many of them walked to Howrah and Sealdah stations because of the traffic jam. However, by evening the situation became normal.

The senior officials of Sewerage and Drainage Department of Kolkata Municipal Corporation held a meeting to remove the debris. They said the waterlogging which took place on the stretches of some roads got cleared once the rain stopped. They said the KMC was ready to face any challenge and assured that even if there was waterlogging, the accumulated water would recede fast. 

They said over the past few years the duration of waterlogging in the low lying areas had been reduced. Underground sewer line along Beadon Street, Bentinck Street and its neighbourhood and Rasjbehari Avenue have been cleaned and strengthened so the duration of waterlogging in vast areas of south Kolkata has been reduced. 

Mayor Sovan Chatterjee assured the residents that unless it was very heavy rainfall, the duration of waterlogging would be minimum.