Two people killed; city and adjoining areas submerged

Kolkata, Aug 13 (UNI) At least two persons were killed as incessant overnight rains pounded the city and its adjoining areas today submerging many areas and affecting railway and vehicular traffic.

Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said the rain left many places of Kolkata flooded and turned the situation critical in East and West Midnapore districts.

According to the meteorological office, the rain, measuring 174.2 mm since last night, was triggered by a depression over the Bay of Bengal. The depression would gather further strength resulting in heavy rainfall for the next 48 hours, it said.

A rickshaw puller, Sudhangshu Das,was electrocuted in the Salt Lake area while another person died of lightning in Esplanade in the heart of the city.

Kolkatans woke up to a gloomy morning as the rains, continuing since late last night, submerged large areas of the city-- particularly the eastern and northern parts. Water even entered many houses in the low lying areas.

Railway services on Howrah and Sealdah sections were badly hit as dozens of trains were either cancelled or detained while road transport also went haywire causing severe snarls on the waterlogged roads.

Official sources said worst hit areas in the city were Mominpur, Behala, Alipore, Lake Gardens, Kasba, Kidderpore, College Street, Amherst Street, Ultadanga and Dum Dum where people had to wade through filthy water to reach their destinations.

The city's IT hub in the sector five of Salt Lake was also affected by the accumulated water.

Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) mayor Bikas Ranjan Bhattacharya said efforts were on to run the pumping stations to drain out the water.

He said the waterlogging was due to heavy rainfall in a short span of time. "The amount of the rainfall was too heavy for the city's existing infrastructure," he said.

Meanwhile, the Met office issued a warning to fishermen not to venture out into the sea because of the inclement weather.

UNI