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.

The deluge - 251.4 mm in less than 24 hours - was the highest since 1986 and sixth-highest single-day rainfall in the last 137 years.

It turned arterial roads into rivers, snapping Metro and train services, and throwing air travel into disarray as the city gasped for normalcy ahead of Bengal’s biggest festival, Durga Puja, next week.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee described the downpour as "unprecedented", blaming poor dredging of the Farakka barrage and lapses

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