- 11 months ago
Very heavy overnight rainfall has paralysed normal life in Kolkata, with many parts of the city and its surrounding neighbourhoods completely inundated. The downpour, which started past midnight on Tuesday, led to severe waterlogging, causing traffic to come to a standstill and water to enter numerous houses. The Indian Met department has attributed the rain to a low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal and has forecast more showers. An extreme deluge was recorded, with one area receiving "around 250 millimeters of rainfall which is absolutely unprecedented." The city's drainage system has reportedly collapsed, and authorities are taking precautionary measures, including closing lock gates, due to an impending high tide. This situation unfolds just days before the Durga Puja celebrations, causing concern for traffic management and festivities.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00And we're now getting some breaking news from Kolkata.
00:03Five electrocution deaths are being reported from Kolkata.
00:06Stagnant water leads to electrocution deaths.
00:10The death toll stands at five currently.
00:12Massive water logging on the streets of Kolkata due to heavy rains.
00:15And we're learning that five people have unfortunately lost their lives due to electrocution,
00:20due to stagnant water on the streets of Kolkata,
00:24which have led to these five deaths due to electrocution.
00:28A total of five deaths have been reported in Kolkata's city so far due to electrocution in stagnant water.
00:36My colleague Indrajit Kundu is now joining us with more details on the same.
00:39Indrajit, we're learning that five deaths are being reported due to electrocution due to stagnant water.
00:46Give us more details.
00:48Well, look, life has been completely thrown out of gear in Kolkata due to, you know,
00:52massive rainfall that has taken place overnight in the last 24 hours.
00:59There has been 250 millimeters of rain is what the Med Department tells us.
01:04And you can see behind me, we're in the Central Business District in the Maidan area.
01:09And hundreds of office goers are currently stranded.
01:11As you just mentioned, five people have lost their lives due to electrocution across parts of South Kolkata due to stagnant water.
01:21The Kolkata metro, which is the lifeline of the city, on a busy Tuesday morning has also been fruncated.
01:28The metro service currently is running between Dakshineshwar and the northern outskirts of the city to the Maidan where I'm standing.
01:35I'm right outside the Maidan metro station and you can see behind me, hundreds of office goers are currently stranded.
01:42There are very few vehicles and public buses.
01:45People are in their two-wieners.
01:48And I'll just show you the scene here.
01:51Some buses which are flying in water, they are completely full.
01:58There are police vehicles that we can see.
02:00Public buses are completely chocoblop.
02:02So people are somehow trying, running to catch, you know, very few buses that are available.
02:08And office goers are trying to somehow make their way into these buses in order to reach their offices and respective locations.
02:16So people have been able to avail the metro services, the truncated metro services.
02:20But once they got off the metro here at the Maidan metro station, after which they are trying to figure out as to how they will be able to reach.
02:29The sky, of course, is overcast here.
02:31This is, of course, due to a low-pressure area that has now formed.
02:36This was the IMD, which had stated that there was a low-pressure area that was building up.
02:42Now it's situated off the coast of West Bengal and Odishtra.
02:46Therefore, South Bengal, various districts of South Bengal, Kolkata and adjoining areas will be receiving, you know, heavy rainfall is what the Med Department tells us.
02:54There's an orange alert that has been given.
02:56But since it's a weekday, and that too, a week before Durga Puja, so preparations have been hampered massively.
03:05And office goers who are trying to reach office somehow, you can see they are trying to make their way precariously through the water.
03:11Five people, as we've been reporting, have died due to electrocution.
03:15I will show you how people are trying to make their way to ankle-deep water here.
03:21This is a very busy cross-section.
03:24This is, of course, the Park Street Maidan area.
03:28Ahead of us is the Park Street flyover.
03:30And you can see, somehow people have managed to get this Matador or Tempo, and many office goers, even hanging from it, are trying to reach their respective destinations.
03:42So it's drizzling once again.
03:44So not a very conducive environment right now.
03:47So Kolkata is in a state of deluge this Tuesday morning.
03:51And this has also thrown, you know, operations of the Eastern Railway to an extent out of here.
03:58Some Vande Bharat trains have been rescheduled.
04:01We are given to understand that there is some amount of waterlogging on the platforms of the Haurat Station and the Kolkata Station.
04:07There have been some trains which have been rescheduled.
04:10So things will take time for things to come back to normalcy.
04:14If it doesn't rain, if the rain holds up, then the water will slowly drain out.
04:18In some parts, it has started draining out.
04:20But in other parts, there is still massive waterlogging and therefore causing massive inconvenience to people in the city.
04:28Right. Indrajeet, also tell us about the worst affected areas in Kolkata and what are the steps that are being taken by the authorities?
04:36Well, you know, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation has, you know, is trying to pump out waters.
04:41That's what they do all the time.
04:42So pumps are installed in various locations to drain out the water.
04:46In some parts, electric supply would be disconnected as a precaution so that there is no more electrocution because this is what happens most often.
04:55But as you can see, you know, we had visuals of the Kolkata mayor at the control room trying to monitor the situation.
05:01But this is the situation on ground.
05:03I can see an ambulance making its way through, you know, the water.
05:07But there are so many people who are stranded, taking their umbrellas out and they're just trying to figure out a way to reach their office space and see how people are, you know, trying to get onto any vehicle that they can somehow cling onto it and hang and reach the location because it's once again started drizzling.
05:24And, you know, there is severe waterlogging in several parts that we can show you right now.
05:31This is, of course, the central business district in between Maidan Metro Station and Excite Crossing.
05:37This is, of course, the office area.
05:39This is where most people disembark from the metro to reach out to their offices.
05:45And this place has been completely thrown out of gear.
05:47So, it will take a few hours for life to return to normalcy here in Kolkata.
05:52And that too, if the rain gods permit, if the rains fall.
05:55Back to you.
05:57All right.
05:57Indraji, do stay with us.
05:59We're also being joined by my colleague Anirban Roy from central Kolkata, getting us the latest from there.
06:05Anirban, how is the situation in central Kolkata?
06:10See, Anjali, the situation is right now so horrible.
06:13And you can see over there that the people are all struggling.
06:18And the roads are already flooded.
06:21And it's a nearby area to Shialda Station, where the train service is also being disrupted.
06:28And you can see the people over here.
06:30This is the colony of one of the Baw Bazar Street.
06:34And it's a bazar area and market area.
06:38And all the things have been disrupted, was already disrupted.
06:43And right now, these shops, those in the market area are all closed.
06:48Because due to heavy rainfall, this is the time of festivity.
06:51This is the time where the Durga Puja is being celebrated in all over Kolkata, as well as in West Bengal.
06:59But in the verge of the start of Durga Puja, already the Kolkata is flooded.
07:05And right now, the people are all suffering over here because those people, those who are going to office, right now you can see that they are all struggling.
07:15They are not getting any kind of taxi or any kind of metro or anything.
07:19So they are all going to office via walking.
07:23And that is the situation right now in Kolkata.
07:27Already, the Kolkata mayor, Sirad Hakim, is assessing the situation from the control room.
07:32And as far as the sources, Mamata Banerji, CM of West Bengal, has already directed the KMC, as well as the police for the rescue.
07:39As already we have seen that five people have lost their life in this situation due to the electrocution.
07:46So right now, the Mamata Banerji has already asked everyone to be cautious and to take necessary steps as needed.
07:55Over to you, Anirban.
07:57Right, Anirban.
07:57And what are the steps being taken over there by the authorities to pump out the water?
08:03See, to pump out the water, there is already being taken by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation as the various places.
08:11As I am right now standing in the central Kolkata, in north Kolkata, and several parts of south Kolkata.
08:18I will not say several parts.
08:20Every part of Kolkata right now is underwater.
08:23And that's why the corporation has taken a measure to pump out the water to Ganga as well.
08:30And right now, they are clearing the situation.
08:33They are clearing the things, those where the people were struck.
08:37And they are rescuing, they have started rescuing in like a war-like situation.
08:43And right now, because already the festivity is here, Durga Puja is here.
08:47And there is lots of traffic and all.
08:51So that's why in a war-like situation, they are working right now.
08:56All right, Anirban, do stay with us.
08:58We also have Indrajit Kundu from Kolkata.
09:01Indrajit, the scenes that we are witnessing in Kolkata, is this a result of lack of preparation?
09:05Well, look, this is, you know, what the Med Department is telling us, that this is a record rainfall that Kolkata hasn't witnessed in several years.
09:15And that's in a very short span of time.
09:17So therefore, you know, 250, more than 250 mm of rainfall in past 24 hours will lead to some delusion in parts of Kolkata, is what the Med Department is telling us.
09:31This is record rainfall in the city.
09:34And this has come on a week, day one.
09:37Secondly, just a week before Durga Puja.
09:41So, you know, there are traffic restrictions in several places.
09:44There are pandals.
09:44I'll show you the amount of water that I'm wading through in order to reach office.
09:51And this, of course, is a very, very prime area.
09:54This is the Excite Crossing, here, the Excite Crossing, Shakespeare, Sarani.
10:00You can see the Tata Center there.
10:03So this is the office area.
10:04So most people who are applying on the street today, it's a weekday.
10:08They are trying to make their way to their offices.
10:11I'm in, you know, Ankulji Water right now.
10:14So this is the situation across the city.
10:17So people have been asked to maintain caution because there is a fear of electrocution due to live wires.
10:25Five people, as we've just reported, have lost their lives.
10:28There are very few vehicles which are applying on the street right now.
10:30One can only hope that the rain falls.
10:33But the prediction from the Med Department is that there is an orange alert.
10:37There will be rainfall all through the day today, especially in South and Gansetic, West Bengal.
10:42And therefore, people have been asked to stay indoors.
10:45Those preparations for Durga Puja, of course, you know, there are thousands of Durga Puja organizers and pandals which are in the final phase of preparation.
10:57So that will be hampered very badly.
10:59In fact, last two days, we have seen from September 21st, Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee has begun inaugurating those puja pandals.
11:06She also has schedules for inaugurating some puja pandals today as well.
11:11But surely those will, you know, stay canceled.
11:14And as Anirban just said, the Chief Minister is monitoring the situation and I've asked people to maintain caution.
11:20The Mayor, of course, is monitoring the situation from the control room at the Kolkata Municipal Corporation.
11:26And pumps have been deployed to drain out the water.
11:29All right.
11:30But that will only succeed when the rain holds.
11:32All right, Indrajit and Anirban, thank you for getting us all those details right from the ground.
11:38We'll keep coming back to you for more updates on this.
11:40So, heavy rainfall lashed Kolkata and has thrown life out of gear ahead of Durga Puja.
11:46And four people have also died.
11:49In fact, five people have died due to electrocution in the city.
11:53Several places were inundated under knee-deep water and traffic paralyzed.
11:56Water entered many houses and residential complexes in the city as roads went underwater owing to the overnight rain.
12:04Now, in the wake of heavy overnight rainfall, significant waterlogging.
12:07Metro services has been halted in several areas.
12:11Waterlogging in key areas is leading to traffic snows.
12:14Meanwhile, Weather Department has predicted heavy to very heavy rain in several districts in the southern part of West Bengal till September 27.
12:21You can see that the vehicles are flying, the corporation, the local corporation workers are working on war footing to open the manholes.
12:33But that also keeps security concerns in mind.
12:36Because in different areas, in order to let the water pass to the manholes, the manholes have been kept open.
12:42That also poses a great challenge.
12:44But overall, you can understand that outside the state secretariat, which remains to be almost inundated at this moment,
12:51Mohata Banerjee, the chief minister, would also be reaching the state secretariat in few hours from now.
12:56But ahead of that, this remains to be the situation of the state secretariat.
12:59You can well imagine what the situation could be in other parts as well.
13:03I would like to go across.
13:03I would like to start the Sameh.
13:32Central Kolkata
14:02जो हालत बुरी है कि घर के अंदर पानी आ गया है और उसी के साथ साथ जो है कि लोग अभी बिस्तर पे बैठे हुए और यही जो चबी देखने को मिल रहा है शहर Kolkata बोवदार इलाके से यहां भी एक घर है जहां पे पूरी करी के से पानी गुश के अंदर में विद्वस्त
14:32जान बोला जाता है वहां पे भी पूरी तरीके से सामने लोकों का कहना है कि सामने यह जो घर है यहां पे बात्रूम से लेके हर जगा हर जगा पूरी तरीके से पानी के अंदर है और यही जो चबी है देखने को मिल रही है कि दुर्दापुजा की उत्सवब है दुर्दा�
Comments