Kolkata:
At least three people were killed, several trees fell and suburban trains affected due to ‘Kalbaisakhi’ incidents in southern parts of West Bengal, including Kolkata, on Monday evening. The officers provided this information. According to the police, a 12-year-old girl died after coming in contact with an electric wire during a storm in the Botanical Garden area of Howrah city. ‘Kalbaisakhi’ are localized rain and storm-related events of fairly short duration.
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A 65-year-old man died after a chart fell during a strong storm in Amsha village under Uluberia police station area of Howrah district, a senior police official said. He said that a woman in her 40s died when a tree fell during a storm in Urphuli village under Bignan police station area of the same district. The storm lasted for three minutes from 5.41 pm at the Alipore observatory in Kolkata with a maximum wind speed of 84 kmph, the Meteorological Department said.
According to the Meteorological Department, Dum Dum in the northern part of the city witnessed strong winds of up to 62 kmph. These winds lasted for about one minute at 6 pm. Besides Kolkata, the nor’wester affected Purulia, Bankura, Birbhum, Purba and Paschim Medinipur, Purba and Paschim Bardhaman, Howrah, Nadia and South and North 24 Parganas among other areas of South Bengal.
Due to this, light to moderate rainfall occurred over various networks including Kolkata. Hundreds of commuters were stranded on various commuter train services connecting Kolkata to neighboring cities as ‘Kalbaisakhi’ approached during the evening rush of work-people. Sealdah, one of the busiest in the state, saw a large number of people waiting for trains to their destinations.
A railway official said train speed was affected at 5.40 pm in different classifications of Sealdah division of Eastern Railway, as commuters swerved and fell on the railway track. Suburban train services were affected between Shyamnagar and Naihati in Sealdah Main section and between Baruipur and Laxmikantapur in Sealdah South section, he said. He said that a tree wish fell on the railway line near ED Garden station in Eastern Railway’s circular railway. Officials said that soon tower vans would be sent to restore the services.
In Howrah Division of Eastern Railway, a tree fell in Chandan Nagar and some things got entangled in the overhead at Konnagar. Due to ‘Kalbaisakhi’ several trees were uprooted and some vehicles were damaged in Maidan area near Victoria Memorial and South Kolkata Lake Garden area. Disaster Management Group personnel have been deputed to remove trees and clear the view . The nor’wester that occurred in the evening caused heavy traffic jams in the city as the fallen pillars blocked roads at some places. Several beehives were blown away and several trees were uprooted in Jhargram district, following which minister Birbaha Hansda visited the affected areas.
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(Apart from the headline, this news has not been contested by the ANDITV team, it has been published directly from the syndicate.)