The community hall in FD Block is being renovated. The residents’ body claims this will be the first community hall in Salt Lake to have an elevator.

“Ours was the first community hall in Salt Lake to install air-conditioners about eight or nine years back. Now we will be the pioneers in installing an elevator also,” said

Santanu Biswas, president of FD Block Association. The lift will have a capacity of six persons.

Dwindling interest in booking for social occasions is what drove the association to go for renovation. “The mayor was here recently and commented on how lacklustre the hall looked. Climbing the second floor was also becoming an issue for senior citizens who form a major part of any guest list. Many preferred to sit downstairs. After we installed air-conditioners we were getting 170-172 bookings a year. In recent years, it has come down to less than 100,” Biswas said.

A raised cement platform on the first floor which took up about 13ft of the 39ft length of the hall has been demolished. “It was meant for the bride to sit at a wedding. But few bothered to climb the three or four steps to the stage and instead placed the bride's throne on the floor. That space was going waste.”

The hall is now getting newly tiled. An adjoining room is being converted into a bathroom while the earlier bathroom is becoming the shaft for the elevator. A fibre glass shed will also be constructed on the roof.

On the ground floor, the main gate is being reduced in height. “It used to extend till almost the roof. But the big door got damaged twice in the Nor’westers.”

A budget of Rs 21 lakh has been set aside for the renovation. Work started in April. “The masons left for their native village in Murshidabad for the election. That delayed work for two weeks. We have to finish before the Pujas.”

The rent at present is Rs 12,000 for members and Rs 25,000 for outsiders.