The demolition of an unauthorised building at Paharpur Road had to be stopped amid protests on Thursday, days after 12 people from the locality were killed in the collapse of an illegal under-construction building.
Those protesting on Thursday are the very people who had complained about such structures and the risks they posed.
A team of Kolkata Municipal Corporation officials that began the demolition of the illegal five-storeyed building part by part had to stop as people started protesting against the move.
The building, located at J-474/C1, is not far from the five-storeyed building at Azhar Molla Lane that crashed on March 17 and killed 12.
KMC officials said according to protocol, the building to be demolished had been served with a formal evacuation notice before the work started. “But we faced resistance when we started the work,” said a KMC official.
KMC sources said the structure in question had a partially sanctioned plan and had tilted towards its adjoining building, threatening to crash any moment.
Several residents of the building said they had objections to the way it was being brought down.
“Only the illegal portion should be demolished. Why are they breaking the first floor of the building?” asked one of the occupants of the building who did not wish to be named.
Another Garden Reach resident wondered why had his building been singled out. “There are so many illegal buildings. Why has only this building been chosen?” he asked.
A man who said he was the developer of the building said this (its demolition) was “pure injustice”.
The decision to pull down unauthorised buildings in the Garden Reach area was taken following the collapse of the building in the locality that killed 12.
Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim had admitted he had the “moral responsibility” for the collapse of the five-storeyed building in Garden Reach and told the engineers that it was their responsibility to identify and demolish illegal buildings.
Several pockets of the city have witnessed the growth of unauthorised buildings where civic officials have faced a similar fate while trying to do their work.
Often, the same Kolkatans protest about illegal constructions when it does not affect them, said a police officer who has been part of earlier demolition drives.
“This is not the first time we have faced such a situation. People do not realise that by not allowing us to do our job they will only endanger their lives,” said a KMC official.
On Thursday, the police first asked the agitating people if they had a sanctioned plan for the building. They did not and hence the cops forced them away and cordoned off the area with barricades. Several women were seen standing outside the barricaded area, saying their shops on the ground floor were getting affected.
“Our only complaint is why this portion is being broken. Only the unauthorised part should be demolished,” one of the women said.
Only a portion of the first floor could be pulled down before the work was suspended.
KMC officials said they will resume the work once there is “more clarity”.