At least 15 people were killed and nearly 50 others were injured on April 17 evening when heavy rainfall and strong winds with a speed of up to 98 km per hour hit parts of West Bengal for about 45 minutes. The storm caused uprooting of trees, fall of electric poles, the collapse of roofs and walls in several houses which thereby disrupted rail, road and air traffic and tripping of power in several areas.
Thousands of people were left stranded at Esplanade, Howrah and Sealdah stations till late into the night.
Regional Meteorological Director G K Das confirms “A nor’wester hit the city with a gale force of 98 km per hour around 7.42 pm.”
Police said that out of the 15 people, seven people died in Kolkata, six in Howrah District and one each in Bankura and Hooghly districts.
Police confirmed that in Howrah District, four people were electrocuted after they were struck by lightning in Bali and Belur areas.
One other death was reported from Andul Road when an electric pole fell on a person riding a two-wheeler and a woman died in Dumurjola area of the district police added.
Howrah resident Amit Shukla, 28, had come to Posta for work. He was killed when a chunk of concrete from a ground-plus-five-storey building fell on him as he was walking along a pavement on Kalakar Street.
Mamata Banerjee, state chief minister has instructed the chief secretary to look into the situation and prepare a report on the deaths and damage caused by the storm.
