Heavy rains paralyse Mumbai, Kolkata; monsoon may hit UP by Thursday

After a brief hiatus, south-west monsoon has regained steam across India. Various regions in the country, including Mumbai and Kolkata, received heavy rainfall on Monday.

According to reports, at least 11 people were killed in rain-related incidents in Mumbai and southern districts of Bengal alone.

The downpour led to waterlogging in several places of Mumbai and Kolkata, disrupting rail and road traffic for several hours in both the cities.

Traffic moved at snail's pace, office goers and school children were inconvenienced, and taxis fleeced commuters - all familiar scenes in rain-hit Kolkata and Mumbai.

Meanwhile, the monsoon hit Supaul district of Bihar on Monday, triggering light to moderate rainfall in eastern and north-eastern parts of the state.

The rain-bearing winds are likely to advance towards the other parts of Bihar in the next 48 hours, the Met department said on Monday.

According to a weather bulletin released by India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday, conditions are becoming favourable for advancement of monsoon into Uttar Pradesh and south-east Rajasthan in the next 48 hours. 

How heavy rains affected Mumbai and Kolkata: 

Mumbai: Torrential rains clobbered large areas of Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra, claiming at least five lives in rain-related incidents, officials said on Monday.

Heavy rains lashed the city and Thane district throughout Sunday night continued till, causing water-logging at several places and slowing the movement of suburban trains.

Kolkata: Five persons died in lightning strikes and one drowned as heavy monsoon showers left various areas of the metropolis and the southern Bengal districts waterlogged on Monday.

A Met department bulletin on Monday warned of "heavy to very heavy rainfall (7-20 cm)" in most places of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar and Alipurduar districts from June 25 June 29, "caused by an upper air cyclonic circulation over West Assam and sub-Himalayan West Bengal".

It said several south Bengal districts would also be affected by incessant rainfall over the next three days and issued an alert for North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas and East Midnapore districts.

With agency inputs