Provision for providing houses to those who lost their homes approved: WB CM

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday announced temporary housing for residents in Bowbazar area whose houses were damaged due to the construction during the ongoing tunnel boring work by Kolkata Metro. A committee was also constituted to look into the matter.

"A committee has been formed to look into the incident in Bowbazar area. The committee includes the Commissioner of Police Anuj Sharma and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim," the Chief Minister announced while addressing a press conference in Kolkata.

Banerjee said that the Kolkata Metro will be carrying out construction and repair work for the damaged houses and till then the residents will be moved to another location.

"Provision for providing houses to those who have lost their homes has been approved. Till the time their houses are constructed, the families will be moved near Metro cinema," she said.

"For those who have suffered a loss of income, they will be getting a monthly income till the time things return to normalcy," she added.

In addition, the Chief Minister stated that the residents will be accompanied by Police and Disaster Management team to collect their belongings from the damaged houses.

Kolkata Metro Managing Director PC Sharma stated that the committee will be deciding the compensation amount to the residents but Kolkata Metro is committed to providing rehabilitation of the residents and rebuilding their houses.

"The committee will be deciding on the compensation amount for affected families but Kolkata Metro is committed to providing rehabilitation and rebuilding the affected houses," said Sharma.

PC Sharma further added that the work for the East-West Metro line could be delayed for another year. The work was originally scheduled to complete in 2021.

On Sunday, after around 254 residents of Bowbazar area were shifted to different hotels on after serious cracks developed in their houses due to the ongoing underground tunnel boring work for the Kolkata Metro's East-West Metro project.