After making landfall between Tinkona island and Sandwip near Barisal in Bangladesh on Monday night, cyclone Sitrang crossed the Bangladesh coast after skirting the West Bengal coast.
In Bangladesh, Sitrang left at least 35 people dead and about 8 million without power. The Bangladesh government said about 10,000 homes were damaged and more than 6,000 hectares (15,000 acres) of crops were destroyed. Thousands of fishing projects were also washed away.
The tropical storm, which moved towards Bangladesh from north Bay of Bengal at a speed of 56 kmph, caused moderate to heavy rain and squally weather in West Bengal’s coastal districts of South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas and Purba Medinipur, dampening festive spirits on Diwali and Kali Puja.
The weather in the southern districts of West Bengal is likely to improve, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
It is very likely to weaken into a depression and then into a low pressure by Tuesday evening, the IMD said.
The weather office warned of squally wind with speed reaching 40 to 50 kmph gusting to 60 kmph along and off West Bengal coast on Tuesday morning, which will decrease gradually to 30 to 40 kmph gusting to 50 kmph by forenoon.
Intermittent showers on Monday forced people to remain indoors as most Kolkata streets wore a deserted look on a festive evening which would normally have attracted tens of thousands to visit Kali Puja pandals and see the bright lights of the city.
The West Bengal government had advised people to take necessary precautions in view of the weather forecast. At a high-level meeting at Nabanna, Chief Secretary Hari Krishna Dwivedi had directed the district magistrates to stock up enough relief and ordered evacuation of people from the coastal areas. A red alert was issued for fishermen.
The rain dampened the festive fervour with most of the shops in Kolkata’s Esplanade, Maniktala, Koley Market and Burrabazar areas remaining shut. “Till Sunday, sales were satisfactory. But since Monday morning, business has been dull. This is due to the cyclone and the rain,” Abinash Thakur, a vendor of earthen diyas at Maniktala market said on Monday. Basanti Ghosh, who owns a shop of paper plates in Sealdah, said, “The morning of Kali Puja is a day of good business. But today (Monday), business has been very bad due to the rain.”
With PTI inputs
