Kolkata: Six persons, including a child and his mother, were trapped inside when a building collapsed in North Kolkata’s Ahiritola on Wednesday.
The collapse was the result of continuous rain in the city since midnight. The administration that is prepared to conduct three Assembly bypolls, including Bhabanipur on Thursday, has reason to worry.
The Meteorological Department (MeT) has predicted more rainfall in the city and its adjoining districts for the next couple of days.
Six persons including a child and his mother were trapped when a dilapidated building at Ahiritola in North Kolkata collapsed on Wednesday morning. The fire brigade and the NDRF team rushed to the spot and rescued two persons, but four more are feared to be inside. The disaster management team is working hard to rescue the rest of the people.
Minister of State for fire and emergency services Sujit Basu rushed to the spot and was overseeing the rescue operation personally. Speaking to the media, Basu said, “Two persons have been rescued, but there are some more people who are trapped inside. We need to rescue them first and send them to the hospital”.
Meanwhile, continuous rain coupled with strong breeze from midnight have inundated most parts of the city creating a major problem for the people on a working day.
Most parts of the city, including the College Street to Muktaram Babu Street, Thanthania, Shukaria Street, Girish Park, Shobhabazar, Ultadanga, Patipukur Underpass in North Kolkata and Behala, Haridebpur, Jadavpur, Taratala, Tiljala, Netaji Nagar, Pak Circus, Gardenpara area in South Kolkata were submerged under water. The people had to brave the water to reach their working places.
According to the meteorological department a well-marked low-pressure area now lies over the central part of Gangetic West Bengal following which rain or thundershower accompanied with gusty wind is likely to continue over some parts of Purulia, Bankura, Birbhum, Murshidabad, Nadia, East and West Burdwan, Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, North & South 24 Parganas, East and West Medinipur, Jhargram and Malda districts of West Bengal for the next two to three days.
However, the MeT department has said that there is no possibility of heavy rains in Kolkata on Thursday, but has already issued a yellow alert for heavy rains in two districts, including Burdwan, Purulia, Bankura, 24 Parganas, Howrah and Hooghly.
These districts will experience gusts of up to 30 to 40 kmph. which can rise up to 50 kilometers per hour. Fishermen have been asked not to venture into the sea for the next two to three days.
The administration is worried about the weather condition because there is the crucial bye-election in the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency on Thursday (September 30).
Due to a flood-like situation in the South Bengal districts because of continuous rainfall, the state administration has asked the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to get prepared for any kind of eventuality.
“The election is round the corner and so we don’t want to take the risk. The state administration is prepared for any kind situation,” a senior official of the state government said.