The disaster in Bowbazar doesn’t seem to have come to an end as more houses continue to become potentially in danger of collapse due to Metro Railway construction work.
After 52 houses were partially or wholly damaged since Saturday and 20 more houses collapsed on Wednesday, state minister Tapas Roy was asked to vacate his flat by 11 am on Thursday. A meeting has been called by chief minister Mamata Banerjee today at the state administrative headquarters, Nabanna, to evaluate the situation and take short and long term measures.
Roy and several residents of the same building were asked to move out as there was possibility of more houses to be affected. Roy has been living in the top floor of the building on BB Ganguly Street in Bowbazar for the past 13 years, and has been associated with the neighbourhood since childhood, he said.
Residents in the area took to the streets on Thursday demanding immediate resettlement as they were finding it difficult to find immediate accommodation and have not been able to move out with important documents and valuables. Children have been unable to go to school, and office-goers had to skip work. Elderly people have been having a tough time as well. The area has been cordoned off and residents of some houses have been allowed to go in for 15 minutes to collect their valuables. But this has not been possible for those residents whose houses have been totally damaged or under immediate threat of collapse.
Two days back, chief minister Mamata Banerjee formed a core committee with the chief secretary as head and with representatives of the Metro Railway and residents and businessmen affected by the disaster. She also demanded an immediate minimum compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the affected. Since then, more houses have collapsed and even more houses have been affected and declared as potentially under threat.
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