Park Street rises amidst controversy

The pallor of pain is yet to lift from Park Street. Three days after an inferno swept through the upper floors of the landmark Stephen Court building, the city's celebrated thoroughfare is gradually returning to normalcy, but the angst and accusations are apparent.

Owners and tenants of the building chafed at the authority's staunch refusal to allow entry in the premises. Unable to ascertain the extent of damage to their respective properties, many constantly requested for access. Especially those with residences in Stephen Court felt that their valuables could be lost.

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), however, asserted that parts of the building were unsafe for entry even as workers were brought in to clear out the ravaged floors. “It may take 2-3 days for all the debris to be removed. We already have about 50 workers inside the building,” a municipal official said.

But the KMC itself is being gradually drawn into a maelstrom, with questions being raised over the extensions to the top floors of Stephen Court that were legalised. While officials of the municipal authority have maintained that no illegalities had taken place, others — including Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee — believe quite the opposite.

Moreover, there is discord over the supposed demolition of the damaged floors that the municipal body is undertaking. A KMC notice posted outside Stephen Court stated that the existing structure affected by the fire from “the fifth floor and above on (the) South-Eastern part of the building, including all of its roof and peripheral walls” was to be demolished.

However, after being moved by residents, the Calcutta High Court has indicated that no part of the building can be demolished without permission.

Life, though, is moving on. For instance, the confectionery favourite Flury's will move across the road and into the Park Hotel, on a temporary basis. “We are safe,” an official from Flury's said.

But for many others, the uncertainties were far greater and the insecurities more threatening.