Heavy rain lashes Kolkata and its suburbs, leaves thoroughfares waterlogged

The city along with several districts of south Bengal experienced heavy rainfall on Tuesday owing to a depression that lay centred over Chhattisgarh and Odisha.

The Met office said in a bulletin that an "intense spell of thunderstorm with moderate to heavy rainfall", during the day, battered different parts of Kolkata and its neighbouring districts of North 24 Parganas, South 24 Paraganas, Howrah and Hooghly.

Commuters had a harrowing time reaching their destinations as many areas in the metropolis, including Sector V in Salt Lake, were left waterlogged.

Fewer buses and auto-rickshaws were seen plying the roads in the morning.

An official of the Kolkata Police traffic department said that the downpour led to traffic snarls that lasted for hours on the city's thoroughfares.

According to the weatherman, north Kolkata and its suburbs recorded 116 mm rainfall in approximately six hours till 2.30 pm.

Similarly, 45 mm rainfall was recorded during that period in Alipore, reflecting the pattern of showers across south Kolkata.