23 September, Tuesday: People of Kolkata have already started Pujo celebration from yesterday, and just at the starting hour, Kolkata faced a deluge as five hours of record-breaking rainfall left vast parts of the city submerged. Torrential rains, comparable to a cloudburst, lashed the city from midnight until early Tuesday morning, crippling normal life.
Record rainfall
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) stated that such heavy rainfall within such a short span has not been witnessed in recent memory. Normally, 100 mm of rain is enough to clog parts of the city, but since Monday night around 10 p.m., Kolkata received nearly double that amount. Waterlogging in various areas led to widespread disruption.
According to KMC data, Garia’s Kamdahari recorded the highest rainfall:
Kamdahari (Garia) — 332 mm
Jodhpur Park — 285 mm
Kalighat — 280.2 mm
Topsia — 275 mm
Ballygunge — 264 mm
Chetla — 262 mm
Momimpore — 234 mm
Chingrighata — 237 mm
Palmer Bazaar — 217 mm
Dhapa — 212 mm
CPT Canal — 209.4 mm
Ultadanga — 207 mm
Kudghat — 203.4 mm
Pagladanga (Tangra) — 201 mm
Kuliya (Tangra) — 196 mm
Thanthania — 195 mm
Watergate opened
In an effort to alleviate waterlogging from the transport system in Kolkata, lock gates were opened as early as possible in the morning and emergency pumping operations were initiated, but officials warned that nature presented new challenges in other way, with high tide on the Ganga expected around noon, if water is not drained before then, the process will have to halt, exacerbating the problem, and with continuous rain adding to concerns.
Kolkata battles on, with civic teams working round-the-clock to drain the water, even as the city braces for further rainfall.
