11 Electrocuted in Kolkata: Heavy Rains Spark Outrage Over 'Unsafe' Lamp Posts

Just before Durga Puja, Kolkata remains gripped by severe waterlogging which has claimed 11 lives in five days.

Even three days after the rain, many areas of Kolkata, including Jadavpur and Behala are still waterlogged.

(Photo: PTI)

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Heavy rainfall began in Kolkata at midnight on Tuesday, 23 September, leading to waterlogging across many parts of the city. But an empty stomach cannot wait for the water to recede. Driven by that impulse, Pranotosh Kundu, a resident of Gandhi Colony, set out on his bicycle through the waterlogged streets to reach his fruit stall near Netaji Nagar bus stand in Ward No 98 of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation area.

Struggling to balance against the force of the water, Kundu tried to steady his bicycle by holding onto a lamp post right in front of his shop. Within that one moment, he was electrocuted. His body lay in the water for nearly half an hour before the disaster management team arrived to retrieve it.

Kundu, known locally for feeding stray dogs near his shop, was not the only victim. One such dog, which came near to sniff his body, was electrocuted as well.

The sight of a human and an animal’s corpses floating together has naturally sparked outrage in the city.

Apart from Kundu, Paban Ghorami of Shakespeare Sarani, Firoz Ali Khan of Sundari Mohan Avenue, and Ram Gopal Pandit of Garfa Main Road were were among 11 people who lost their lives on Tuesday, electrocuted on the waterlogged streets of Kolkata.

Record Rainfall After Decades

According to the Alipore Meteorological Department, between midnight and 5 am on Tuesday, Kolkata recorded an average rainfall of more than 247.7 mm. Garia received the highest rainfall—nearly 332 mm. In areas like Ballygunge, Jodhpur Park, Kalighat, and Topsia, rainfall crossed 250 mm on average. According to experts, Kolkata has not seen such rainfall in nearly 38 years.

Just before Durga Puja, such heavy rainfall, deaths, and waterlogging in the city have triggered political blame game. As soon as news of so many deaths emerged, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said,

“On Tuesday, it rained even more than during the 1978 disaster. DVC (Damodar Valley Corporation) does not dredge in its own areas. The reservoirs like Maithon and Panchet release water, and West Bengal gets flooded regularly because of it. This time the monsoon rainfall has been higher than usual. That water added to the floods. Although we have reduced waterlogging in Kolkata to a great extent, the water must still be drained into the Ganga. But the river is already full with water coming from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Where should we drain the water?”

For the deaths, the Chief Minister directly blamed CESC Ltd, the electricity supplier for Kolkata. She said, “During the Left Front era, CESC was given the responsibility for supplying power in Kolkata. They will do business here but carry out infrastructure development in Rajasthan. This cannot go on.”

But the Trinamool Congress (TMC) had accepted Rs 300 crore in donations from CESC during the electoral bonds scheme. After the Chief Minister’s statement, CESC issued a statement saying,

“The ownership or maintenance responsibility of streetlamps and traffic lights does not lie with CESC.”

The TMC countered, arguing that apart from the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC)’s lamp posts, CESC also has its own posts in Kolkata. The electrocution happened from there.

Administrative Responsibility Questioned

Dipankar Sinha, former director general of town planning for KMC, told The Quint, “It is the corporation’s responsibility to light the streets and maintain the lamp posts. CESC only supplies the electricity connection. There’s no room for debate here.”

He further said, “If there are exposed wires on any lamp post, it is the corporation’s duty to fix it. Why didn’t they take the necessary legal steps earlier?”

This is not the first time electrocution deaths have triggered blame games between the corporation, CESC, and other agencies.

In June 2022, a Class VI student in Haridevpur died of electrocution after he came in contact with an exposed wire in accumulated water. At that time too, the corporation, CESC, and BSNL had passed the blame onto each other. In 2021, a 25-year-old youth died after electricity from an exposed wire spread through accumulated rainwater in front of Raj Bhavan.

“Corporation lamp posts are used to hang decorative string lights. Nothing is more dangerous than this. The metal body of the post can easily conduct electricity from the wires and electrocute someone. This risk increases after rains. Sadly, in the name of beautification, it is the corporation itself that does this work.”

Dipankar Sinha

Past Promises and Present Failures

In 2023, Mayor Firhad Hakim had promised a special monitoring mechanism to ensure that no one would die in the city due to contact with exposed wires. But after the deaths of more than 10 people within a few days, questions are being raised about the effectiveness of that monitoring system.

"This is the first time I’ve seen both human and dog corpses floating together in Kolkata," said Sajal Ghosh, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Councillor of Ward 50.

Following the incident, the Chief Minister announced Rs 2 lakh compensation and government jobs to the families of each of the deceased. She also asked CESC to provide compensation. Initially, CESC claimed that since the deaths happened because of illegal connections and misuse of electricity, the company should not be held responsible. But, according to the latest information, CESC will follow the Chief Minister’s directive and provide Rs 5 lakh compensation to each of the victims’ families.

The Calcutta High Court bench of Justice Soumen Sen has also sought reports from the state government, KMC, and CESC regarding these deaths and the quantum of compensation.

Political Accusations Intensify

On the matter of electrocution deaths, Ghosh alleged that the ruling party has pulled high-extension wires from the corporation’s lamp posts across the city to put up decorative string lights, which caused the deaths. He added, “Even 20 years ago, Kolkata used to have waterlogging, but why didn’t we see so many electrocution deaths then?”

Along with blaming BJP-ruled states for sending excess water that worsened drainage issues, Mamata also blamed the CPM for Kolkata’s waterlogging problem.

According to her, the previous government had done no work, leaving her to face the crisis. She added, “Even in London, waterlogging remains for 10 days.” She also claimed that waterlogging in Salt Lake and New Town was caused by metro construction work.

A City Still Under Water

Even three days after the rain, many areas of Kolkata, including Jadavpur and Behala are still waterlogged. Rajya Sabha CPM MP from West Bengal, Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, told The Quint,

“When it rains, water accumulates in every city in the world. That’s not the debate. The real issue is that under this government, there is no maintenance of drainage systems, and that is why the public is suffering so much.”

Between 2005 and 2010, Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya was the Mayor of Kolkata. During his tenure, the British-era brick sewer system was replaced with modern drainage infrastructure, much of which was completed by 2010. He said, “We had taken significant steps to free Kolkata from waterlogging. Before we could finish the work completely, we had to leave office. Later, when the public started benefiting from that work, Mamata Banerjee tried to take all the credit.”

“Drainage also depends on seepage zones in neighbouring areas—canals, wetlands, ponds, which naturally absorb excess water. Under TMC's rule, canals have been filled up, ponds have been filled up. As a result, all natural outlets for water have been almost shut. This was bound to happen.”

Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya

To rescue citizens from the waterlogging, Hakim was seen wading through waist-deep water. In Chetla, he opened manhole covers clogged with plastic to drain the water. “The water from the canals in this area flows into the Ganga. But because of the water coming from neighbouring states, the Ganga is already full. So the river is sending the water back into the city,” he said.

However, counterclaims have emerged. Some KMC officials said that to avoid draining all water into the river, the city’s water bodies must be preserved, but that has not been done.

The Maintenance Question

Manas Sinha, General Secretary of the KMC Engineers and Allied Services Association, told The Quint,

“The root cause of waterlogging is a massive lack of maintenance. The corporation had repeatedly floated tenders worth crores for desilting drains. But it was all eyewash. No actual work was done.”

He added that if KMC’s claims of desilting were true, then two more dumping grounds would have been needed beside Dhapa to accommodate the silt. It is worth noting that the city’s solid waste is disposed of at Dhapa dumping ground. Anonymous KMC officials claim that although desilting is shown on paper, nothing happens in reality. Corporation rents vehicles for desilting. Small vehicles require 2.5 litres of fuel per day, and large ones 25-30 litres—even this fuel allowance is siphoned off.

“You can check for yourself. The desilting trucks don’t belong to the corporation. They are hired from outside. I can say with certainty that in writing, the entire contract money goes into the pocket of Tarak Singh, the Mayor-in-Council member responsible for drainage.”

Manas Sinha

He demanded a white paper showing how much silt was actually removed and where it was dumped. The Quint reached out to Tarak Singh for his response. This report will be updated at a response.

However, regarding the waterlogging, Singh told the media, “I do not understand why people are venturing out in waterlogged streets. Walking in accumulated water is nothing short of suicide.” He advised citizens to be more responsible, saying, “There are 50 lakh lamp posts in the city. How can we guard so many?”

According to experts, enormous amounts of garbage have accumulated in the city’s drains. Because they are not cleaned, the water cannot drain quickly.

“The water collects in the city’s sewers and drains and reaches the sump of the pumping stations. From there, the water is pumped out. But first, there are fewer places left to discharge the water. Earlier, Kolkata’s water was pumped into nearby open fields, but now those areas have become completely urbanised. Secondly, silt and garbage choke the drains carrying water to the pumping stations, so the water cannot reach properly.”

Dipankar Sinha

A Drainage System Stuck in Time

He added that unless a minimum level of water accumulates in the pumping station reservoir, the pumps cannot be operated.

The former KMC official said that when the drainage system was built during the British era, only 40-50 percent of rainwater reached the pumping stations; the rest was absorbed by ponds and canals. Now, almost 99 percent of rainwater flows to the pumping stations. But the drainage system has not been upgraded in proportion to this increase.

“One of the main reasons for waterlogging in central Kolkata was the breakdown of the Ballygunge pumping station on Tuesday. A 200-cusec pump was already out of order. Due to the pressure of water, two 240-cusec pumps and one 50-cusec pump failed.”

Manas Sinha

According to corporation officials, a single 240-cusec pump can drain out the water from a large area within two hours. This pump used to help drain water even from far-off areas like Kalighat and Jadavpur. Its breakdown worsened the problem.

According to the given information, at the beginning of this century, with funds from the Asian Development Bank, work began on overhauling Kolkata’s drainage system.

During Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya’s tenure, the open drains of Kudghat, Bansdroni, and Garia were converted into underground drains. Large areas of Behala and Joka were also included in this project. The work continues even in 2025. Despite being in power since 2010, the TMC board has not been able to finish the work.

Incomplete Projects and Central Failures

Manas Sinha further said,

“The main reason for central Kolkata’s waterlogging is the halt in modernisation of the drainage system. In the very centre of Kolkata, from Moulali Crossing to Palmer Bazar, there is a 20-foot sewer from the British era. Inspectors used to ride boats inside to check it. During the earlier board’s tenure, many of these old brick sewers were jacketed and modernised, which increased their water-carrying capacity. But this particular central stretch remained unchanged. Its capacity has reduced, causing problems in taking the water to the pumping stations.”

Kundu’s family members, however, have refused to become a part of this political blame game. A four-member delegation of BJP MLAs visited them and offered help, but the family refused.

Speaking to journalists, Kundu's son Dolon said, “Certainly, there was administrative negligence; otherwise, such an electrocution death is impossible. The state government and CESC are responsible for my father’s death. We do not need any government aid or job, as it won’t bring my father back.”

The deaths continued till Saturday, 27 September, with a 65-year-old being electrocuted to death in Sarsuna area of Behala. Sumanti Devi was trying to open the shutter of her store while standing in stagnant water when she was killed almost. In this case also, the shifting blame game started immediately, with the CESC claiming she died due to a short circuit, as her own lamp connection misfired.

Sudip Polley, the TMC Councillor of Ward 123 of KMC, where Sumanti Devi died, said "it is humanly impossible" for the corporation to manually monitor and prevent every single mishap.

"The deaths occurred due to individual negligence. The death which previously occurred in Ward 122 was because an industrial unit was running in a residential area, and there was loose connection. The person who died was electrocuted when he tried to switch on a generator while standing in accumulated water. In Sarsuna also, the death occurred due to negligence," he said.

(Anindya Hazra is an independent journalist covering politics in West Bengal.)