Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s aircraft faced significant delays in landing in Kolkata on Friday night due to severe weather conditions in the city. Shah was travelling by a private plane.
The aircraft entered Kolkata’s airspace at 12.25 am and circled for nearly 55 minutes, sources said, adding that the plane was even diverted toward Krishnanagar at one point. It finally landed at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport at 1.20 am.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee faced a similar ordeal on Thursday after her aircraft had to circle for more than an hour due to heavy rain and thunderstorms, preventing it from landing at Kolkata airport.
Shah is scheduled to release a ‘chargesheet’ against the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) government on Saturday. He is also likely to hold meetings with senior party leaders to review the election campaign in the poll-bound state and finalise strategies.
Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya, Union minister Sukanta Majumdar, and West Bengal co-in-charge Amit Malviya waited at the airport to welcome him.
Heavy rain accompanied by thunder and strong gales lashed Kolkata and its suburbs on Friday after a day of sweltering heat. Several areas in north and south Kolkata reported power outages. The Regional Meteorological Centre in Alipore also issued a red alert for six districts, including Kolkata.
More rain in store today
According to the meteorological department, a cyclonic circulation has formed over Gangetic West Bengal and adjoining Bangladesh. As a result, a possibility of light to moderate rain has emerged across the entire state. This weather condition is expected to persist for the next few days.
Several districts are likely to witness storms and rain on Saturday. Even Kolkata may face turbulent weather conditions.
The weather office has forecast thunderstorms and rain across north Bengal on Saturday. Kalimpong, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, and Alipurduar are expected to receive heavy rainfall over the next few days. This pattern is likely to persist until Tuesday, after which conditions may change.
An alert has also been issued for Kolkata and its surrounding areas. Thunderstorms and rain are expected in Howrah, Hooghly, North and South 24 Parganas, and Nadia on Saturday.
There is also a possibility of hailstorms in parts of Hooghly, North 24 Parganas, and Nadia. While the intensity of the storms may begin to decrease from Sunday, the weather is expected to improve gradually after Tuesday.