Heavy rain since past midnight flooded roads and residential complexes across the city, leaving vehicles stranded for hours in knee-to-waist-deep water at major intersections, including Park Circus, Gariahat, Behala, and College Street.
The deluge - 251.4 mm in less than 24 hours - was the highest since 1986 and the sixth-highest single-day rainfall in the last 137 years, only behind the record 369.6 mm in 1978, 253 mm in 1888, and 259.5 in 1986.
Kolkata Mayor and state Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim told PTI that most parts of the city were waterlogged and teams of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) were working around the clock to drain out the water.
"Our officers are working hard. But the canals and rivers are full of water and every time water is drained out, more is getting inside the city. We fear that the high tide, may not help in our efforts to drain out the excessive water from the city. It would be around 10 PM when the situation could be expected to improve," Hakim said.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee described the downpour as "unprecedented" and lashed out at poor dredging of Farakka and "lapses" by power utility Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation (CESC).
"Electricity is supplied by CESC, not us. It is their duty to ensure people do not suffer because of this. They will do business here, but not modernise here? They should send people to the field and fix this," she said.
Traffic movement was severely affected across most arterial roads, with vehicles stranded for hours in knee-to-waist-deep water at key intersections such as Park Circus, Gariahat, Behala, and College Street.
Long traffic snarls were reported on EM Bypass, AJC Bose Road and Central Avenue, while several smaller lanes in south and central Kolkata were completely cut off due to waist-deep water.
Commuters complained of buses breaking down mid-way, while taxis and app cabs either stayed off the roads or charged exorbitant fares.
Significant waterlogging was reported in the mid-section of the Blue Line (Dakshineswar Shahid Khudiram), particularly between Mahanayak Uttam Kumar and Rabindra Sarobar stations, prompting the immediate suspension of services on this stretch.
A Metro Railway Kolkata spokesperson said in order to ensure passengers' safety, services have been suspended between Shahid Khudiram and Maidan stations since morning hours. "Truncated services are being run between Dakshineswar and Maidan stations," he said, adding that normal services are expected to be resumed soon.
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