Rains throw life out of gear in Kolkata

Heavy rains lashed Kolkata from late on Tuesday night to Wednesday morning disrupting normal life in the metropolis. The city recorded 180 mm of rainfall on average, but it was higher in north and central Kolkata, while the south received about 60mm of rain.

A thunderstorm with intense lightning led to diversion of an international flight from Kolkata.

British Airways flight BA 147 was scheduled to reach Kolkata at 1.45 am and leave for London two hours later but it had to be diverted to Delhi because of the thunderstorm.

"It will arrive in the city tomorrow morning at 7.30 am and leave at 9.30 am," informed the airport manager. Other flights, domestic and international, operated on time.

No vessels arrived at the Kolkata docks of the Kolkata Port Trust but sources in the port chose to play this down as a co-incidence.

Power supply in some areas of the city was disrupted, admitted the city's power supplier, CESC Ltd.

Sources in the CESC said two high tension systems had to be switched off on request because rising water levels threatened electrical equipment. Power failures affected supply in two other areas.

Sector V, the state's IT showpiece, was badly hit with the roads being completely submerged in water and continued to remain that way through the day.

Sources in Kolkata Municipal Corporation said water could not be pumped out from low-lying areas of the city into the Hoogly river because of high tide and water level in the river.