KolkataMajor changes can happen in the historic jewelery hub of Bowbazar, Kolkata. An expert committee of Jadavpur University has recommended that 45 houses, nearly two centuries old, should be demolished after several neighboring buildings developed cracks due to underground construction work on the Kolkata Metro.
26 houses have already been removed in Bobazar by Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Limited (KMRCL) for security reasons – 23 in September 2019 and three more in May this year. If 45 other buildings are demolished as recommended, the total will be 71.
An expert committee consisting of retired and serving civil engineering professors was constituted by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) in May to assess the damage caused to the buildings and work out a solution.
The committee’s 80-page report, seen by ThePrint, was presented in the second week of October and says there are three ways to accommodate displaced residents and rebuild the neighborhood.
One way is for the KMC and Kolkata Metro to develop a modern jewelery center with residential high-rise buildings to replace the old houses, all of which are 185 years old or so. Alternatively, demolished houses could be rebuilt once building regulations are relaxed, but the report said this would not be cost-effective. The third option is a mix of high-rise and two- to three-story homes for the neighborhood, all built anew.
Security issues have surrounded the congested Bobazar ever since the construction of the East-West Metro Corridor, which will include India’s first underwater metro tunnel.
In September 2019, two buildings Collapsed And several others developed cracks, delaying the project. In May 2022, similar issues Resurrected again and more than 150 residents of Durga Pithuri Lane had to be evacuated for security reasons. Work stalled for months, but a week after grouting activities resumed in October, there were cracks informed of Again.
ThePrint has contacted KMC commissioner Binod Kumar via text, WhatsApp, call and email for his comments on the report; This article will be updated once a response is received. Deputy Mayor Atin Ghosh said the matter was beyond his jurisdiction and to speak to the KMC commissioner regarding the report.
Kolkata Metro Director (Projects) NC Karmali told ThePrint that the expert panel’s report is yet to be received from KMC. He said that the work under Bowbazar has been stopped.
Meanwhile, many residents of Bowbazar still live in uncertainty, with those who were evacuated this month still staying in hotels.
“We will soon start the process of compensation for the residents of Madan Dutta Lane, who were displaced on October 14,” Karmali said.
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What the Expert Committee has found
Speaking to ThePrint, Himadri Guha, a retired professor of Jadavpur University, said the team was formed in May this year by the KMC to survey houses and shops in Bowbazar after the Durga Pithuri Lane incidents .
“We were about to submit our report when the second incident was reported from Madan Dutta Lane in the second week of October, and then we had to expand the scope of our survey and immediately submit a report to the KMC,” he said. Told.
The report said that since 2019, five such cases have been reported where buildings in Bobazar have developed cracks due to metro construction work. However, no major tunneling work has been done since September 2019, where buildings were a problem. Held responsible Till the tunnel borer hitting the aquifer – underground layer of rock/sediment holding water. This reportedly resulted in submersion or submersion of the ground, causing cracks and the collapse of some houses.
The JU panel’s report references archival materials, including British geographer James Rennell’s 1794 map of Bengal, to pinpoint the cause of building issues at Bobazar.
“Calcutta is one of the most well documented cities in the world. Since it was the British capital, the maps have the greatest detail. There was a creek in Bobazar, it was a wetland. In 1709, the British built a road in the archives according to the minutes of the East India Company. Beneath the bobazar is an aquifer, which means a rock beneath the soil that contains water,” Guha explained.
Kolkata Metro’s Karmali told ThePrint that activities are continuing on the East-West corridor, but cross-passage work under Bobazar has been halted. “Our expert teams are surveying and inspecting the area. Stoop Consultants is our building expert partner and they are also studying the buildings in the area.
(Edited by Aswari Singh)
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