Kolkata Rains: 22-Year-Old Woman Electrocuted to Death Amid Severe Waterlogging in Howrah

Kolkata: As incessant rain lashed Kolkata and its adjoining areas, a tragic incident occurred in the Shalkia area of Howrah district, West Bengal, where a 22-year-old college student lost her life due to electrocution amidst severe waterlogging. The deceased has been identified as Purvi Das. The area has been experiencing heavy rain for several days, causing widespread flooding on roads and streets. The incident took place on Thursday night when Purvi, accompanied by her sister, was heading to a birthday party. As they approached their father's shop, Purvi was suddenly electrocuted by a live wire that had fallen and was hanging dangerously low over the waterlogged road. The shock caused her to be thrown a considerable distance.

Purvi's father, in a desperate attempt to save her, was also electrocuted and thrown back. Both were rushed to a hospital, but Purvi was declared dead upon arrival. Emergency services and local police were immediately called in, and the power supply in the area was cut off.

An initial investigation revealed that a severed live wire was responsible for the accident. The local police have launched a probe into the incident to ascertain further details and accountability.

Meanwhile, severe waterlogging was reported from several parts of Kolkata, including the airport. Similar was the scene in the neighbouring cities of Howrah, Salt Lake and Barrackpore. The situation would remain the same throughout the day today, the weather office said.

According to the police, ankle-deep water was reported from parts of central and south Kolkata, but traffic movement was not disrupted. Waterlogging was also reported from inside the Kolkata airport, but flight services were not affected, an official said.

"Both runway and all taxiways are fully operational. However, a few parking stands are affected by waterlogging for which additional pumps have been deployed to drain the water from the operational area," he said.

Parts of the city experienced up to 7 cm rainfall since Friday afternoon, a weather official said. "The low pressure over Jharkhand and Gangetic West Bengal turned into a deep depression. It is gradually shifting towards Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. This, accompanied by an active monsoon trough over the southern districts of West Bengal, resulted in the rains," he said.

The southern districts of Howrah, Paschim Bardhaman, Birbhum, Purba Bardhaman, Hooghly, Nadia, and North and South 24 Parganas districts will continue to experience showers over the next 12 hours, he said.

The Met Department also warned of thunderstorms, accompanied by lightning. A 'yellow' alert for heavy rain of up to 11 cm for the Gangetic West Bengal districts, including Kolkata, was issued.

An 'orange' alert for heavy to very heavy rains was issued for Purulia, Murshidabad, Malda, Coochbehar, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts.

A 'red' alert was issued for the Alipurduar district, where rainfall of up to 20 cm was likely. On Friday, Kolkata recorded a maximum temperature of 30.1 degrees Celsius, which was 2.4 notches less than normal. The lowest temperature was 26 degrees, which was 0.6 notches below normal.