Kolkata, Sep 23 (IANS): With portions of Kolkata still under knee-deep water following incessant rains for the last three days, the met office on Wednesday predicted more woes for the city as well as south Bengal, with likely formation of two more depressions in the Bay of Bengal leading to downpours on the weekend.
According to the Meteorological Department, a pair of depressions is likely to form over Bay of Bengal over the weekend and due to them, heavy rainfall is predicted in Kolkata and south Bengal from Sunday.
It said that a depression is likely to form in the east-central Bay of Bengal next Saturday, will gradually move west-northwest and enter land through the Odisha coast.
At the same time, another depression is likely to form in the central Bay of Bengal on Monday, will gradually move towards the Bengal and Odisha coasts and the two depressions will cause thunderstorms and rain, not only in Kolkata but also in south Bengal including North and South 24 Parganas, Howrah, and Hooghly.
Meanwhile, there is a depression over Jharkhand at the moment and it will gradually move towards Odisha and Chhattisgarh. As a result, there will be scattered rain in Kolkata and adjoining areas on Wednesday, but the weather will improve from Thursday. However, the department has predicted heavy rains in some western districts also including East and West Midnapore, East and West Burdwan, Bankura, Purulia, and Jhargram.
The administration is worried about the weather because there is the crucial bye-election in Bhabanipur Assembly constituency on September 30. The heavy rainfall might lead to a flood-like situation in south Bengal districts and so the state administration has asked the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to get prepared for any eventuality.
"The election is round the corner and so we don't want to take the risk. The state administration is prepared for any situation," a senior state government official said.
Meanwhile because of the three days of continuous rain, several areas of Kolkata like Ultadanga, Maniktala, Belgachia, Behala, M G Road, Park Circus, Park Street, Theatre Road, and Shakespeare Sarani are still inundated and people had to wade through the knee-water to reach their working places.