Kolkata limping back to normalcy after rain fury, several areas remain waterlogged
Kolkata (PTI): Kolkata struggled to return to normalcy on Wednesday as several areas, particularly Salt Lake and pockets of north and central part of the city, remained waterlogged, a day after torrential rain left 10 people dead and threw life out of gear in the metropolis.
The Met department has ruled out heavy rain in the city during the next 24 hours, though it forecast mostly cloudy skies with light to moderate showers accompanied by thunder and gusty winds at some places.
Water was pumped out of low-lying areas of Kolkata and adjoining areas through the night, but residents of Bidhannagar continued to reel under flooding, with vehicles moving at a snail’s pace and pedestrians forced to navigate inundated lanes.
To avoid accidents, the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation kept street lights switched off on Tuesday evening.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who had deferred her scheduled Durga Puja pandal inaugurations on Tuesday due to the inclement weather, is expected to visit the marquees on Wednesday, as well as launch a newly constructed fire station at Kalighat.
Officials said though floodwaters have started receding gradually, restoring normal life before the festive season remains the administration’s immediate challenge.
The situation in Kolkata and adjoining districts will be closely watched on Wednesday with more rain on the radar, they said.
At least 10 people were killed, nine of them due to electrocution, as torrential overnight rain – among the heaviest in nearly four decades – left Kolkata and adjoining districts paralysed on Tuesday, crippling air, rail and road transport, shutting educational institutions, and prompting the state government to advance Puja holidays.
The downpour – 251.4 mm in less than 24 hours – was the highest since 1986 and 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.
It turned arterial roads into rivers, snapping Metro Rail and train services, and throwing air travel into disarray, as the city gasped for normalcy ahead of Bengal’s biggest festival - Durga Puja.
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Sooryavanshi's century in vain as SRH beat RR by 5 wickets
Jaipur (PTI): Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's century went in vain as Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Rajasthan Royals by five wickets in their IPL match here on Saturday.
Sooryavanshi hammered his second hundred in the IPL — a 37-ball 103 — as Rajasthan Royals put on board a strong 228 for six after they were put in to bat first.
Sooryavanshi got plenty of support from Dhruv Jurel, who made a 35-ball 51 and, helped the teenager milk 112 runs for the second wicket. In the death overs, Donovan Ferreira (33) played some big shots as RR went past the 200-run mark.
But, SRH chased down the target of 229 with nine balls to spare, with Ishan Kishan top-scoring with a 74 off 31 balls. Abhishek Sharma chipped in with 57 off 29 deliveries as SRH reached 229 for 5 in 18.3 overs.
Brief Scores:
Rajasthan Royals: 228/6 in 20 overs (Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 103, Dhruv Jurel 51; Pat Cummins 1/27, Eshan Malinga 2/38).
Sunrisers Hydearabad: 229 for 5 in 18.3 overs (Ishan Kishan 74, Abhishek Sharma 57; Jofra Archer 2/34, Brijesh Sharma 2/44).
