The construction of some buildings in Karunamoyee’s E and F blocks has split residents in two camps, with some welcoming the move and others — especially those living around them — opposing their location.
In F Block, the new building is coming up between residential towers F17, F18, 19 and 20. This area is near the Karunamoyee gate opposite Bidhannagar Municipal School in FE Block.
Office-bearers claim this building will be an office-cum-conference space (including a toilet) but those living around it are up in arms.
“Open space is dwindling in our concrete cities and Kaurnamoyee has become very crowded, as it is. Yet another building will eat into breathing space and obstruct light and ventilation for the flats surrounding it,” says Sumita Saha, a ground-floor resident of F19. “How can they select this location without our approval?”
Saha had been growing plants in that public space but the labourers, she says, threw aside the pots and hacked down a 30-year-old karabi tree to make space. Another lady, living in a first-floor flat, is concerned about noise and loss of privacy. “This space is constricted and will pose problems for us. But at my age I have no energy to protest,” says the septuagenarian resident, who did not want her name to be published.
More than 10 residents have signed a petition against the construction and sent copies to the police, councillor Kakali Saha and Karunamoyee Abasan Samity Phase II (KAS II), that is in charge of E and F blocks.
The samity members say this is for the greater good of the complex. “Our association has 24 members and no space to meet. We have to hold discussions on the street. It is high time we get an office,” says an office-bearer of KAS II, asking not to be named. There used to be a utility room at the disputed site that housed sweepers and pump men as well as their tools. “But its roof was leaking, the walls had got damp and it was too small. Our association is rebuilding it at our own cost. The rest of the space is being built by the state housing board,” he said. “Work should be complete by the Pujas.”
Raising a stink
A similar storm is brewing in E Block, where residents opposed the building of a toilet complex meant for sweepers, plumbers, electricians and other staff of KAS II. This complex was coming up near the pump house number 3A near Karunamoyee gate 2 opposite the international bus terminus.
Residents of towers like E 23 and E 25 vehemently opposed the construction. When they noticed the foundation of the construction, it sparked an outrage in the block’s WhatsApp group. They stopped labourers from proceeding further and challenged the office-bearers.
“We demanded to know how the location was chosen and asked the office-bearers to stop work immediately. Not only would the toilet block raise a stink but it could also cause diseases as, going by the track record of hygiene in this complex, we are sure it will not be cleaned properly,” said a resident. Pankaj Dave, the secretary of the E Block residents association, said they were simply trying to provide sanitary services to their staff.
“The staff had threatened to stop work unless we provided a toilet. We have two female sweepers as well and it is very difficult for them to work under these conditions,” said Dave.
The office-bearers and residents have now arrived at a consensus. The toilet block will be built at the disputed site but will get razed in three to four months, once the office-cum-conference hall in F Block becomes functional.
Passing the buck
The role of the West Bengal Housing Board in these episodes is limited. The board had built Karunamoyee Housing Complex but has handed it over now. The basic maintenance of the complex is carried out by various block management committees – like KAS II — who collect maintenance fees from the residents to provide the service.
While the board is not in charge of day-to-day activities at Karunamoyee, when they began building the Diya Housing Project at the edge of the complex a couple of years ago, they razed down phase II’s maintenance office and staff quarters. The board had then agreed to rebuild these but the sites would be chosen by KAS II office bearers and residents.
An official of the board, who did not wish to be named, said that they were only providing the funds and helping with manpower to build these buildings and had nothing to do with the selection of sites. “The residents must sort these matters out with the office-bearers of their respective block management committees,” the official said.