Kolkata: 3 of family among six electrocuted to death

A 14-year-old boy died in Titagarh in North 24 Parganas after stepping on a live electric wire while wading through knee-deep water on the road while returning home after dropping off his sister at a tuition class.

Officials said two people died in Purba Medinipur district while carrying relief to Bhagwanpur on a boat. Three people were seriously injured, and were admitted to the district hospital.

Low-lying areas in Kolkata and its neighbouring districts continued to remain inundated as civic body officials struggled to drain out the water.

Residents of Kolkata’s low-lying areas, particularly in the neighbourhoods of Behala and those off the EM Bypass, continued to suffer. In Behala, Shakuntala Park, Sarsuna, and Barisha while Kamarhati in North 24 Parganas remained submerged.

The stretch between the Haldiram junction on VIP Road and Chinar Park, Bangur, and nearby areas were also waterlogged. Due to massive waterlogging in Kidderpore, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had to cancel a campaign event. She is likely to hold the meeting on Wednesday after state minister Firhad Hakim visited the area and took stock of the situation. Hakim is also the chairperson of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation’s Board of Administrators.

Meanwhile, the weather department predicted heavy rainfall in the districts of Paschim Bardhaman, Birbhum, Bankura, and Purulia on Wednesday. There is a possibility of more downpours in Paschim Medinipur and Jhargram too while Kolkata may receive scattered showers.

The situation is expected to improve from Thursday as the depression over the Gangetic plain is predicted to gradually moves westwards.