Cracks opened up on nearby buildings after water entered the Howrah-bound under-construction tunnel of the East-West Metro from water pockets created by the heavy rains earlier this week. (File)Kolkata Metro railway officials on Saturday apologised to Bowbazar residents for cracks and structural damage to buildings caused by the ongoing work on the East-West Metro project and formed a team to coordinate with the affected families and come up with a solution.
Senior officials of Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Limited (KMRCL) on Saturday met the residents who were shifted to hotels after cracks opened up at their houses owing to the ongoing tunnelling work for the East-West Metro, which will link Kolkata to Howrah.
“Our senior officials are closely monitoring the situation to make sure that residents don’t have to put up with such hassles in future. We apologise to them and will arrange for their rehabilitation as early as possible,” a Metro official said.
According to KMRCL sources, arrangements have been made to rehabilitate the residents of 9 houses which have suffered significant structural damage. These houses have already been vacated.
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The Metro authorities have, so far, relocated a total of 141 residents to nearby hotels. A coordination team has been put together to look into the issues and come up with solutions. Sources said a KMC councillor and a representative of the KMRCL are part of the team.
“The KMRCL will also rope in experts from IIT-Roorkee for an independent report on this particular project and seek additional technical inputs to avoid any recurrence of such incidents. Experts from Jadavpur University (JU) have also been hired to assess the condition of the buildings. They will also assist us in the execution of the project on that (Bowbazar) stretch,” Arun Sharma, manager, Kolkata Metro, said.
Several houses in Bowbazar developed cracks on Wednesday amid the ongoing underground construction work for the Metro project.
Earlier, on August 31, 2019, more than 500 people had to be evacuated when cracks opened up in several buildings due to tunnel boring work for the East-West Metro corridor. The affected residents were moved to hotels at the expense of the KMRCL.
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