At least 10 people were killed, nine of them due to electrocution, as torrential overnight rain — among the heaviest in four decades — left Kolkata and adjoining districts paralysed on Tuesday, disrupting air, rail and road transport, shutting educational institutions, and prompting the state Government to advance Puja holidays.
Meanwhile, eight persons died, while hundreds of houses were damaged over the last four days as rains wreaked havoc in the usually parched Marathwada region of Maharashtra, officials said on Tuesday.
The State Cabinet reviewed the situation at a meeting in Mumbai, with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis assuring that the Government was working to provide relief to farmers and others. More than 750 houses and crops on over 33,000 hectares were damaged in Dharashiv district, where helicopters and boats had to be deployed to rescue stranded people, they said.
Incessant rains have been lashing several pockets of Marathwada since September 20, swelling up dams, prompting authorities to discharge water from them.