Rain dampens Diwali celebrations, Met forecasts more downpour

Kolkata, Oct 19 (PTI) Cloudy sky and intermittent rain since morning dampened Diwali and Kali Puja celebrations here today as the weatherman forecast heavy rain in Gangetic West Bengal till Saturday o

Kolkata, Oct 19 (PTI) Cloudy sky and intermittent rain since morning dampened Diwali and Kali Puja celebrations here today as the weatherman forecast heavy rain in Gangetic West Bengal till Saturday owing to a depression in the Bay of Bengal.

The depression over westcentral Bay of Bengal moved north northwestwards and lay centred at 11.30 am about 390 km south southwest of Chandbali in Odisha and 280 km south southeast of Puri, regional Met director G K Das said.

The system is very likely to move initially north northwestwards and cross Odisha coast between Puri and Chandbali around mid night or tomorrow early morning, and is likely to intensify into a deep depression, the officer said.

“Under the influence of the system, heavy to very heavy rain is very likely to occur at isolated places over coastal areas of Gangetic West Bengal and Odisha till tomorrow,” Das said.

“Heavy to very heavy rain will occur at isolated places in most parts of West Bengal along with Assam and Meghalaya from tomorrow till Saturday morning,” the director said.

Squally winds with speed reaching 45 to 55 km per hour gusting to 65 km per hour is very likely along and off Odisha and West Bengal coasts.

Fishermen have been advised not to venture into sea off Odisha and West Bengal coasts till Saturday.

The inclement weather, which turned worse as the day passed, affected Diwali and Kali Puja celebrations in the city and coastal districts in West Bengal.

The festival of lights lost some sheen as intermittent showers throughout the day kept people indoors.

The prevailing weather, however, seemed to have one positive effect as lesser bursting of firecrackers meant lesser air and sound pollution.

The rain could not though prevent devotees from lining up at iconic Kali temples in different parts of the state since early morning.

Thousands of people stood patiently in queues at Kalighat Kali temple here, Dakshineswar temple on the banks of the Hooghly river and other well-known temples in the districts like Kalyaneswari in West Burdwan and Kankalitala.

Worshippers offered Pushpanjali (floral libations) to Goddess Kali amid chanting of mantras (hymns) at the temples.

This is published unedited from the PTI feed.