Heavy rains hammered Kolkata and parts of West Bengal overnight, pushing the death toll to 10 as of Tuesday evening. Eight of those tragic losses happened right in the city, all from electrocution when people touched exposed electrical wires submerged in floodwater.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee pointed the finger at CESC Ltd, the private power company owned by Sanjiv Goenka, for the avoidable deaths. She said better infrastructure maintenance could have prevented this mess. CESC’s executive director for distribution, Avijit Ghosh, pushed back after an internal probe. He explained that six deaths stemmed from faulty home wiring, one from touching a streetlight pole (which CESC doesn’t maintain), and another at a signal kiosk. “We’ll stay more alert to stop this from happening again,” Ghosh added.
Opposition leaders like Suvendu Adhikari and BJP’s Amit Malviya slammed the state government for ignoring a month-old weather warning from the Kolkata Meteorological Office about heavy downpours. They argued that better preparation could have spared lives amid the severe waterlogging and exposed wires.
The storm turned Kolkata into a watery chaos. Streets flooded everywhere after just hours of intense rain, paralyzing traffic and halting train and Metro services. Power outages and spotty internet hit large swaths of the city and suburbs. Even Durga Puja pandals—key setups for the upcoming festival—took a beating from the downpour, frustrating organizers. Water seeped into homes and apartments, with roads still submerged by evening.
Meteorologists called it a rare event: Kolkata hadn’t seen such a deluge in six hours for 39 years. The city logged 178.9 mm of rain from September 1 to 22, already short by 35.7 mm, but most of the average 24-hour total—247.4 mm—dumped in that frantic overnight burst. Some spots topped 300 mm, with Garia Kamdahari hitting 332 mm, Jodhpur Park 285 mm, Kalighat 280 mm, Topsia 275 mm, Ballygunge 264 mm, and north Kolkata’s Thantania 195 mm. It’s the sixth-highest September rainfall on record, beating 251 mm from 1978 and 1986. Just 2 more mm in an hour, and experts say it would’ve qualified as a cloudburst.
To fight back, the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation shut off all streetlights in Salt Lake’s alleys until the water drains, aiming to prevent more electrocution accidents.
The fallout rippled through daily life. At the Calcutta High Court, waterlogging kept workers, staff, and most lawyers away, leading to almost no hearings all day. Acting Chief Justice Soumen Sen handled a handful of cases, but by afternoon, empty courtrooms prompted three lawyers’ groups to ask for delays on urgent matters. The judges agreed, keeping unheard cases on the docket.
Kolkata’s airport reeled too, with over 60 flights canceled—30 arrivals and 32 departures—and 42 others delayed, including 11 arrivals and 31 departures, per officials.
Politics paused amid the crisis. The ruling Trinamool Congress scrapped its Tuesday events, and Mamata Banerjee delayed her Durga Puja pandal inaugurations until Wednesday, if conditions improve. The weather office warns of more heavy rain ahead, thanks to a low-pressure system brewing in the northeast Bay of Bengal, which could soak south Bengal districts and Kolkata again.
Electrocutions struck in eight Kolkata spots: Netaji Nagar, Ekbalpur, Haridevpur, Behala, Kalikapur, Minto Park, Ballygunge Place, and Beniapukur. One more death each came from South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas districts. CESC cut power across many areas to curb further risks.
Traffic cops noted unprecedented flooding on roads that usually stay dry, and teams worked hard to pump out the water—but ongoing rain slowed everything. Floods even lapped into medical colleges and hospitals, including the road outside SSKM Hospital, though officials insist patient care hasn’t suffered.
Rail lines on the Sealdah Main and South sections saw water buildup, delaying or canceling multiple trains since morning. Metro rides ground to a halt in affected zones.
As cleanup begins, residents hope the next wave of rain eases up before the festival season.
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