Torrential rain paralysed Kolkata on Tuesday, leaving large swathes of the city waterlogged, and at least seven people died of electrocution, prompting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to describe the downpour as "unprecedented" and lash out at poor dredging of Farakka and "lapses" by power utility CESC. "Even our houses are submerged; we are all suffering. I am feeling so bad for the Pujo pandals as well," Banerjee said, adding that schools have been asked to declare holidays and office-goers advised to stay home for their own safety. "I am in constant touch with the Mayor, Chief Secretary, and the police. Farakka is not dredged properly, so every time it rains in Bihar, UP, Uttarakhand, Mumbai, Delhi, everywhere there is waterlogging. This time the rain is slightly unusual," the chief minister told a Bengali news channel. The CM said she has never seen rain like this and feels bad for the people who have lost their lives. "I have told schools to give a holiday today, and even office-goers should not come to work. Even tomorrow, you should not come. I heard 7-8 people have died due to electrocution. It is so unfortunate that people have lost their lives. Their families must all be given jobs by the CESC, I am saying this clearly. We will also do whatever is possible to help," Banerjee added.
Squarely blaming the power utility, she said, "Electricity is supplied by CESC, not us. It is their duty to ensure people do not suffer because of this. They will do business here, but not modernise here? They should send people to the field and fix this." Warning of further flooding, Banerjee said, "More water will come. There will be more waterlogging. There is high tide in the Ganga river from Mahalaya. Where will we pump out the water? There is no place to go, it will again have to go to the Ganga only. Where will we send this water? It is full of Bihar and UP's water." Appealing for empathy from the private sector, she said, "I would implore all private sector workers to also not come to work, calamities affect all equally. "The Centre has cut our money through GST, and all our funds are going to deal with these calamities," Banerjee said.