Sept. 24: Rain held up several trains in Howrah tonight, prompting passengers to launch an agitation to protest lack of information.

Suburban and long-distance trains from Howrah were affected throughout the day because of heavy rain. The rail yards at Howrah and Tikiapara were inundated.

The maintenance staff at the control room inside the station were gheraoed by the passengers from 11.30pm.

The passengers alleged that no announcements were made to keep them posted about the delay.

Eastern Railway officials said the trains could not be run on time because of the rain. “The Howrah-bound trains were running late and the corresponding trains leaving the station were also delayed,” a railway official said.

Trains such as Howrah-Amritsar Mail, Kalka Mail and Howrah-Gorakhpur Express could not leave till late in the night.

Nine die in districts

Nine more people died in rain-related incidents as the downpour continued to pound large swathes of south Bengal for the second successive day. Sixteen people have died so far and 6,000 houses destroyed.

The two Midnapores, the two 24-Parganas, Hooghly, Howrah, Burdwan and Birbhum bore the brunt of the rain fury today. Of the nine deaths, three each were reported from West Midnapore, Burdwan and Birbhum.

In Calcutta, finance minister Asim Dasgupta took stock of the rain havoc with relief minister Murtaza Hossain and chief secretary Amit Kiran Deb.

The government sanctioned Rs 8 crore for relief. Tarpaulins were being sent and 400 tonnes of rice would be distributed among the affected people.