While Kolkata awaits the start of the Durga Puja, unprecedented heavy rains swallowed the city, dampening the festive spirit. Durga Puja in Bengal is usually marked by humid heat, but this year incessant rains – the heaviest since 1986 and the sixth-highest single-day rainfall in 137 years – have taken the state by surprise.
At least 10 people were killed, nine due to electrocution, in the heavy Kolkata rains. Rains also snapped air, road and rail transport. With knee-to-waist-deep water, educational institutions were shut, forcing the Bengal government to declare Durga Puja holidays in advance.
With deaths reported and flights delayed or cancelled due to heavy rains, the Bharatiya Janata Party lashed out at the Mamata Banerjee government, alleging a breakdown of civil order.
Here are 10 points to wrap up how the rains disrupted the festive time:
- Kolkata woke up to inundated streets after three-hour continuous rains in the dead of the night. The IMD recorded 185.6 mm of rain between 2.30 am and 5.30 am on Tuesday, September 23.
- The heavy rain was caused by a low-pressure area, and showers are likely to continue in the already wet districts in the southern part of West Bengal till Wednesday, September 24, morning.
- The Met office has informed that another similar system of low-pressure area is likely to form on Thursday, September 25, and bring showers. It is very likely to cross south Odisha-north Andhra Pradesh coasts around Saturday, September 27.
- According to several social media netizens from Bengal, rains inundated even homes, forcing people to shift their furniture to upper floors. Many were seen trudging barefoot through filthy floodwaters.Cars and buses stalled on roads, leaving traffic crawling for hours in many areas.
6. Circular Railway services were suspended and at least 30 flights were cancelled due to heavy rains in Kolkata.
7. More rains are predicted in Purba and Paschim Medinipur, South 24 Parganas, Jhargram and Bankura till Wednesday.
8. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she felt bad for puja pandals. “This rain is so unusual. Even our homes are submerged. I feel bad for the Pujo pandals as well. Schools have been asked to remain shut and officegoers advised to stay home today and tomorrow,” she said.
9. For the flooding in the streets, Mamata Banerjee blamed inadequate dredging of the Farakka barrage by the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) for the flooding, claiming that whenever it rains in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, or Uttarakhand, Kolkata faces waterlogging.
10. The BJP has launched an attack on the TMC, blaming it for the deluge ahead of the Durga Puja.
‘Mamata turned Kolkata into a crime scene’: How did BJP react?
BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya took to X and blamed the TMC government for the disaster, claiming “criminal negligence and breathtaking apathy of Mamata Banerjee and Firhad Hakim.”
He said, “The Alipore MET Dept issued a warning A MONTH AGO about incessant rainfall during Pujas. One month! Their response? Absolute, deafening silence. No plans. No preparation. They just sat back and let the waters rise. This isn’t just a governance failure; it’s a deliberate betrayal of every single person in this city.”
“While the TMC’s cronies profit from this urban loot, Kolkata is left defenceless, gasping for air. This isn’t a city anymore; Mamata Banerjee has turned it into a CRIME SCENE”
BJP West Bengal wrote: “These visuals clearly sum up the ‘Unnayan’ done by Mamata Banerjee.”
In another post, it said, “If such is the condition of civil lives, how can anyone think about living a sustainable life in Kolkata? How can any organization further have the intent to invest? This is a breakdown of civil order.”
‘Weaponsing pain’: How TMC responded
As the BJP went into an attack mode, Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said the deluge was the result of a cloudburst, arguing that such a case can overwhelm any city. She also launched a counter-attack on the BJP, blaming it for “weaponising pain and spreading hate”.
She said, “Yesterday, Kolkata faced the fury of a rare cloudburst. Nearly 300 mm of rain fell within hours, a scale that overwhelms any city, no matter its infrastructure. Scientists have said the same in Mumbai 2005, Chennai 2015, Delhi 2023, no city escapes when the skies open without pause.”
“Yet what does @BJP4India do? They ignore science, they ignore compassion, they ignore climate realities. Their only obsession is to weaponise pain and spread hate. They think people cannot tell the difference between a natural calamity and their propaganda.”
