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Weather clears in city hit by cyclone Aila

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Press Trust Of Iindia Kolkata

The city woke up to a sunny morning after being hit by cyclone Aila which left a trail of destruction and claimed 23 lives.

The fear of the cyclone and its after effects are over, regional MET director G C Debnath said.

However, due to the cyclone that hit the region yesterday, the monsoon has set in Gangetic West Bengal a fortnight before schedule and there is a possibility of rain today.

The monsoon usually arrives in Gangetic West Bengal on June 8.

The city is fast coming back to normal with schools, markets and offices opening, Deputy Commissioner (HQ) Javed Shamim said.

 

Six persons were killed in the the city yesterday due to the cyclone.

Uprooted trees were found in some areas of the city while water logging was reported from several areas of the city and suburbs.

The cyclone spawned from a deep depression in the Bay of Bengal to hit West Bengal, affecting a population of 1.10 lakh.

Two columns of armymen, one each in worst affected Sandeshkhali and Kultali of North and South 24 Parganas districts respectively, have been engaged in rescue and relief operations, defence spokesman Wing Commander Mahesh Upasani told PTI.     

Two MI-17 choppers were pressed into service for airdropping of food packets in the two inundated areas.     

Six more column of troops were kept standby, he said.     

The cyclone, accompanied by heavy rainfall, ripped through Kolkata, North and South 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly, Burdwan and East Midnapore districts at 110 kmph.     

Meanwhile, incessant rains are reported from all six districts of north Bengal today as a residual effect of the cyclone Aila.     

The rains which began yesterday morning gained momentum last night. According to weather experts of North Bengal University, the weather would remain unchanged till this evening.     

The rain added by high velocity wind uprooted trees in some places of Uttar Dinajpur and Jalpaiguri districts, officials said.     

However, there was no casualty.

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First Published: May 26 2009 | 9:46 AM IST

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