KOLKATA: Sixty two-year-old Sumitra Roy had barely sat for lunch when cops and Metro officials barged into her house around noon on Sunday and asked them to vacate the house immediately.
Roy, who has two septuagenarian family members at home could not even take her medicines along with her while leave the house, let alone the property documents and proper set of clothes. She was made to rush out with six family members after several buildings in the neighbourhood started caving in since Saturday night.
Local resident Sumitra Roy breaks into tears after her relocation to a central Kolkata hotel
“I regularly have to take medicines for allergy, asthma, sugar and high pressure. If any of these problems escalates, it might prove fatal. I have heard large parts of our home have already caved in. I don’t know if I can return at all,” said Roy, breaking into tears, sitting at the lobby of a Surya Sen Street hotel.
Roy is a resident of BB Ganguly Street, an alley apart from Durga Pithuri Lane and Syakra Para Lane, where at least four buildings suffered major damage and 20 others developed multiple cracks on floor, walls and terraces. Till Sunday afternoon, Metro authorities and cops had evacuated residents living in 18 such houses and relocated them at five hotels in Moulali, Esplanade, Sealdah and Chandni Chowk. The evacuation process that was started in the wee hours of Sunday was done in phases. “We were told that Metro would foot the bills, but we don’t know for how many days they will pay. And, what about food and essential things like water and medicines? I don’t know if I can go to office on Monday,” said Debosree Roy, employee of a Sector V firm, who is now staying at a hotel.
Bowbazar residents, who had earlier protested against the laying of tracks underneath the area citing condition of the buildings and forced the authorities to change the alignment, blamed the Metro for the incident.
“We knew that buildings in this area are weak and that’s why we had protested. However, the Metro authorities had assured us that nothing would happen to our homes. But look what happened today. Our homes turned into dust in front of our eyes,” said Himadri Auddy, a resident of Durga Pithuri Lane whose family has been staying in the building for several generations.
Similar were the grievances of Goutam Laha, who was one of the first residents to realise that cracks had started appearing on their homes and informed Metro engineers.
“Around 7pm on Saturday, I realised my house was shaking and cracks were developing on the walls. I ran out and called in the Metro engineers who were working in an adjacent area. They tried tell me that my house was fit enough and there was nothing to worry. That is when the earth shook again and the floor of the ground-floor room cracked in front of them. After this, they started making phone calls telling their seniors to stop the tunnel-boring work,” said Laha, a resident of Durga Pithuri Lane. Both Laha and Auddy were asked to stay at hotels but they decided to put up at their relatives’ houses in the neighbourhood.
But not all residents could be allotted hotels or alternative accommodations at once. Shankar Bhunia and Anuradha Bhunia, residents of 16/1 Durga Pithuri Lane were waiting on BB Ganguly Street on Sunday early morning. “We stood on the road in the heat and rain running from cops to political leaders to know where will we spend the night. Finally, we were allotted a hotel around 7pm,” said Anuradha Bhunia, a homemaker.
Realising the poor condition of the buildings, Metro authorities have started supporting some houses with steel beams. KMRC’s MD Manas Sarkar said Metro would foot hotel bills and repair cost since the buildings were damaged because of their work. “If needed, we will build them new houses,” he said.
Roy, who has two septuagenarian family members at home could not even take her medicines along with her while leave the house, let alone the property documents and proper set of clothes. She was made to rush out with six family members after several buildings in the neighbourhood started caving in since Saturday night.
“I regularly have to take medicines for allergy, asthma, sugar and high pressure. If any of these problems escalates, it might prove fatal. I have heard large parts of our home have already caved in. I don’t know if I can return at all,” said Roy, breaking into tears, sitting at the lobby of a Surya Sen Street hotel.
Roy is a resident of BB Ganguly Street, an alley apart from Durga Pithuri Lane and Syakra Para Lane, where at least four buildings suffered major damage and 20 others developed multiple cracks on floor, walls and terraces. Till Sunday afternoon, Metro authorities and cops had evacuated residents living in 18 such houses and relocated them at five hotels in Moulali, Esplanade, Sealdah and Chandni Chowk. The evacuation process that was started in the wee hours of Sunday was done in phases. “We were told that Metro would foot the bills, but we don’t know for how many days they will pay. And, what about food and essential things like water and medicines? I don’t know if I can go to office on Monday,” said Debosree Roy, employee of a Sector V firm, who is now staying at a hotel.
Bowbazar residents, who had earlier protested against the laying of tracks underneath the area citing condition of the buildings and forced the authorities to change the alignment, blamed the Metro for the incident.
“We knew that buildings in this area are weak and that’s why we had protested. However, the Metro authorities had assured us that nothing would happen to our homes. But look what happened today. Our homes turned into dust in front of our eyes,” said Himadri Auddy, a resident of Durga Pithuri Lane whose family has been staying in the building for several generations.
Similar were the grievances of Goutam Laha, who was one of the first residents to realise that cracks had started appearing on their homes and informed Metro engineers.
“Around 7pm on Saturday, I realised my house was shaking and cracks were developing on the walls. I ran out and called in the Metro engineers who were working in an adjacent area. They tried tell me that my house was fit enough and there was nothing to worry. That is when the earth shook again and the floor of the ground-floor room cracked in front of them. After this, they started making phone calls telling their seniors to stop the tunnel-boring work,” said Laha, a resident of Durga Pithuri Lane. Both Laha and Auddy were asked to stay at hotels but they decided to put up at their relatives’ houses in the neighbourhood.
But not all residents could be allotted hotels or alternative accommodations at once. Shankar Bhunia and Anuradha Bhunia, residents of 16/1 Durga Pithuri Lane were waiting on BB Ganguly Street on Sunday early morning. “We stood on the road in the heat and rain running from cops to political leaders to know where will we spend the night. Finally, we were allotted a hotel around 7pm,” said Anuradha Bhunia, a homemaker.
Realising the poor condition of the buildings, Metro authorities have started supporting some houses with steel beams. KMRC’s MD Manas Sarkar said Metro would foot hotel bills and repair cost since the buildings were damaged because of their work. “If needed, we will build them new houses,” he said.
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