Kolkata metro mishap: Date set for return of first batch of evacuees

KOLKATA: Some of the Bowbazar residents evacuated from their homes because of the tunnelling disaster are likely to return by this Wednesday, a fortnight after leaving home. The five-member committee that has been surveying the affected and evacuated buildings in the area since last week submitted an initial report, which said residents of at least four houses — all on BB Ganguly Street — will be allowed back into their homes.The Kolkata Metro Railway Corporation (KMRC) will pay for the minor repairs the buildings need at the moment.
“By this Tuesday, more of the houses will be inspected and by Wednesday, we will be asking residents of some of these buildings to come back. The committee has identified these buildings as safe, and with the subsidence coming down to almost zero, we believe it is time to allow the residents to return home,” said A K Nandy, the general manager (administration) of KMRC.

Sources said that residents of four houses on 91-94, BB Ganguly Street — cramped between Shyakra Para Lane and Durga Pithuri Lane — may shift back home in the first batch. “During a meeting with KMRC officials on Saturday, we were told that we could go home by Wednesday. KMRC officials said they will repair the cracks and damages our houses have developed because of the subsidence. However, they assured us that our houses were safe,” said Moumita Ghosh, a resident of 93/1A, BB Ganguly Street.
“We have been told that once the five-member committee furnishes their report before the KMRC with a list of safe houses, a team of KMC engineers will verify the same and we will be able to live in our homes again,” said Sandip Nandy of 92C, BB Ganguly Street.
The displaced residents have been put up in 21hotels and many of them have been making rounds of the KMRC control room at Goenka College with appeals to return home. KMRC, too, is focusing on bringing people back, provided the structures are deemed safe. Eighteen jewellery stores in the area have already been allowed to resume business after they were found to be safe in the preliminary inspections conducted by the committee.
For the residents to return home, the list of safe structures will be vetted by the building committee comprising technical experts. After the committee rerecommends these houses, KMRC will submit the list to KMC. “The condition of all the buildings, which are on the periphery of the epicentre, is good. But the expert committee may make the list shorter before it is ready for KMC’s approval. The KMC, which will take the final call, can reduce the number,” said an official.
Senior officials of KMRC said they were trying their best to facilitate the return of occupants of 25-30 houses located on the periphery of the disaster epicentre — Durga Pithuri Lane and Shyakra Para Lane — within this month. The total number of buildings affected by the subsidence stands at 74.
“We have set our priorities — first we will identify the least-affected buildings, repair them and allow people to get back to their homes. In the second phase, the buildings with more damage will be listed and rigorous repairs will be undertaken to asses if they can be made habitable again. In the third phase, the buildings that need to be demolished will be listed and their residents will be shifted either to flats or other accommodations as they need to be relocated for a longer duration,” said a senior KMRC official.