South Bengal districts likely to witness heavy rain from Monday

Heavy to very heavy rain is likely to occur in South Bengal from Monday owing to the possible formation of a low pressure area in the Bay of Bengal, causing water levels in rivers to rise and inundating low-lying areas, the Met department said here on Sunday.

The weatherman said that an active monsoon in Gangetic West Bengal, coupled with the low pressure, is likely to cause widespread rain in the region.

The southern districts of the state have been experiencing moderate to heavy rain over the past week owing to an earlier low pressure area in northwest Bay of Bengal that has now moved away from West Bengal, providing a respite from the continuous rain for a couple of days.

Several places in East Midnapore district were inundated owing to heavy rain and overflowing rivers, a district administration official said.

Low lying areas in Panskura, Khejuri, Mandarmoni, Patashpur and Tamluk have been inundated causing hardship to people and also loss of crops as agricultural fields were submerged in several places, the official said.

Moderate to heavy rain has been occurring in most parts of the coastal district since the morning of Sunday, the intensity of which is likely to increase from Monday, the weatherman said.

The Met department, in its forecast, said that the districts of South 24 Parganas, Purba and Paschim Medinipur, Jhargram, Purulia and Bankura are likely to receive heavy rainfall, the intensity of which will increase from Tuesday.

One or two places in Kolkata, along with Howrah and Hooghly districts, are also likely to experience heavy rain on Tuesday, it said.

Embankments of some rivers in the coastal areas of South 24 Parganas district have got damaged in heavy rain and high tidal waves owing to the new moon in the past week, leading to inundation of agricultural fields.

Breaches in embankments in the riverine region have also damaged many mud houses, sources said.