A councillor demanded at the civic house on Saturday that the Kolkata Municipal Corporation should insist on a deadline from the Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) as to when they would bring back residents who had to be evacuated from Bowbazar following accidents during the construction of the East-West Metro.
Biswarup De, the Trinamul Congress councillor from Ward 48 that covers Durga Pituri Lane, Madan Dutta Lane and Syakrapara Lane where most of the affected houses are located, said “several months and years have passed” but the affected residents were still living away from their homes.
Thriving businesses of many have been ruined. “You can keep them in plush rooms and hotels, yet that will not be the same as living in one’s own home,” he said.
De raised the issue while citing a recent letter from the KMRC to the commissioner of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) where the agency has apparently said they would resume the construction of an “emergency egress shaft” at Bowbazar which required the evacuation of a few families.
De said while more people will now be evacuated, many of those who were evacuated earlier have yet to return home.
“As the municipal corporation of the city, we have to think about the displaced residents....The KMC should insist on a deadline from the KMRC by when they will bring back all displaced residents,” De said.
A.K. Nandy, general manager (administration) of KMRC, said on Saturday that the evacuated residents were now living in flats. “They have been shifted to flats from hotels,” he said.
Hundreds of residents were evacuated on an emergency basis after cracks appeared in their houses owing to subsidence triggered by breaches in underground water aquifers.
The first such evacuation took place in August 2019 when more than 250 people had to be evacuated from 13 buildings. More people were evacuated in May and October of 2022.
De said about 450 families and 2,000 individuals were still living or running their businesses elsewhere.
A KMRC official told The Telegraph on Saturday evening that it was not immediately possible to give the exact number of displaced people as the KMRC’s office was closed on Saturday.
Many of the houses have been pulled down and vacant plots now stand in place of old houses.
While replying to a discussion on the issue, mayor Firhad Hakim said some of the houses were beyond any scope of repair.
“These houses were built at a time building rules were much relaxed. But it is not possible to rebuild the houses in the same manner. The current building rules will not permit it,” Hakim said.
“We suggested that the KMRC build a cluster ofhouses for the displaced people, which will be in accordance with current rules. Many residents have not agreedwith the idea of a cluster,” he said.
It is not that the CMC has forgotten the displaced residents, the mayor said. “We are always pushing the KMRC for action,” he said.
He later told reporters that the situation was such that insisting on a deadline will not be realistic.
A CMC official said current rules require certain free space outside a building and wider roads for access to fire tenders and ambulances.
Hakim also added that the KMRC’s response was slow because of its inability to take decisions from Calcutta itself. “The officials here have to go back to Delhi, to the railway board, for all decisions,” he said.
The 16.5km East-West Metro project, which will connect Howrah Maidan and Salt Lake Sector V once fully operational, is now functional between Sealdah and Sector V.
The KMRC is eyeing a December deadline to start services between Howrah Maidan and Esplanade.
But the 2.5km stretch between Esplanade and Sealdah remains a challenge.