Rains lash West Bengal; road, rail traffic thrown out of gear
owrah, Aug 01 (ANI): Flash floods caused by heavy rains in Howrah district of West Bengal brought daily life to a halt as railway tracks and roads were submerged on Saturday. The meteorological department has attributed the heavy rainfall to a deep depression over northeast Bay of Bengal which has intensified into cyclonic storm Komen. Schools and offices remained shut as water entered premises making them inaccessible. People were seen operating from makeshift offices from roadsides. Trains services were badly hit following heavy overnight rainfall that flooded some crucial railways stations and car sheds. Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, said that 39 people had been killed in the floods so far. Banerjee also announced a compensation of rupees 200,000 for the kin of those killed.
