Kolkata's rehab building in shambles, taken over by ragpickers

KOLKATA: A G+5 building spread over 7 cottahs in central Kolkata, which KMRC is considering as one of the options to rehabilitate some of the displaced families from Bowbazar, is in need of completion and reclamation. At a meeting with officials and the displaced residents at Nabanna on Tuesday, chief minister Mamata Banerjee suggested to use the building on Black Burn Lane near Poddar Court to accommodate some of the families.
The building was originally built to accommodate 24 families of BB Ganguly Street where a station was planned for the East-West link. But it has been lying abandoned since the route was realigned via Esplanade after residents refused to part with the land. Once the route was realigned, the building was abandoned without completing the work on the interiors, drainage and sewage.

“This building has been lying abandoned since then. Ragpickers and van-rickshaw pullers have made the place their home. We have approached the local police and the councillor several times but there has been no action against anybody. It has become a no-go zone for local residents,” said a member of the local Chinese community who did not wish to be named.
The building is flanked by a mosque on its eastern side and Toong On Church, a Chinese temple, on its west. The road in front is closed to vehicular movement due to illegal parking and waste dumped on the carriageway by ragpickers. Close to 140 people are already staying on several floors of the building illegally though there is no rooms or washrooms. Waist-deep water has stagnated in the basement, which has space for 30 cars, since there is no drainage system and plastics dumped by ragpickers have clogged the outlets.
Though each floor of the building is sprawling, it is not divided into rooms or flats. Enclosures for washrooms exist but the plumbing and sewage lines were never put in place. Large parts of the two lift shafts have been filled up with garbage. The roof is leaking in several areas.
When TOI shared the pictures of the building in its current state with some displaced residents, they expressed shock. “The place is in a shambles, but we are sure the East-West Metro authorities will carry out the necessary restoration and repairs before shifting us there,” said Sandhya Das, a resident of Durga Pithuri Lane. She has been living at a hotel since Sunday after evacuation.
A team of officials visited the building on Wednesday afternoon to assess the situation and find ways to make it habitable. A local resident, who works as a guard there, accompanied the officials. “They took a tour of the building and clicked some pictures,” he said.
Several teams of KMRC are also scouting for apartments across the city to rehabilitate the displaced residents on a long-term basis on rent. “The plan is to shift the residents out of the hotels and put them up on rent in apartments till a permanent solution is worked out,” a KMRC official said.