Heavy downpour kills 3 in Kolkata

Heavy shower with windstorm, having a wind speed of 40-50 kmph, hit the city and its outskirts,disrupting regular routine and traffic movement.

Due to the heavy windstorm, at least 40 trees were uprooted at several locations in Kolkata.

Traffic movement was  disrupted for hours in Kolkata.

According to reports, one, Madhumita Hembram, and another unidentified man in south Kolkata's Jadavpur area and a middle-aged person, Amar Mukherjee, in north Kolkata's Beliaghata area were killed when huge trees fell on them.

In the Jadavpur incident, as many as five others were injured and are being treated at a local hospital with serious injuries.

The evening-shower in Kolkata and its adjoining areas partly disrupted traffic and train service in Eastern and South-Eastern divisions.

Several areas of the city have been waterlogged due to the hour-long rainfall.

According to the IMD, several other districts of West Bengal, along with Kolkata, are also receiving the shower due to a deep depression over the Bay of Bengal.

"The depression over the Bay of Bengal has turned into a deep depression and is slowly moving towards Jharkhand. Its current location is very close to West Bengal's Digha coast and it's footing towards North-West," a senior official of IMD's Kolkata Regional Centre told IBNS.

According to IMD reports, as the depression will reach Jharkhand in 24-48 hours, it could cause heavy to very heavy rainfall in Jharkhand's Damodar valley region.

"Kolkata would receive moderate to heavy rain in next 48 hours, while several other districts of West Bengal, including Howrah, Burdwan, Birbhum, Purulia, Bankura, and the coastal areas of East Medinipur and South 24 Parganas, would be lashed by heavy to very heavy showers," the official said.

(Reporting by Deepayan Sinha)