Metro work mishap: 27 buildings identified for demolition in

A technical committee set up by Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (KMRCL) has identified 27 buildings for demolition at Bowbazar area in central Kolkata, where a recent tunnel boring work caused damage to several houses, a senior official said on Thursday.

The panel, after studying 70 buildings, decided that 27, including the ones that have partially collapsed, have to be demolished, KMRCL general manager, administration, A K Nandy maintained.

"The technical committee, which submitted its first report on Wednesday, has found another 27 buildings of those inspected to be unaffected," Nandy stated.

Several houses have collapsed or developed cracks in the congested Bowbazar area after a tunnel-boring machine engaged in the East-West Metro corridor project hit a water table leading to seepage under the foundation of the houses.

The Calcutta High Court had on Tuesday directed the KMRCL not to resume underground construction for the corridor without its nod.

The KMRCL had told the high court that 688 people have been relocated from 78 damaged buildings, while 83 families handed over Rs 5 lakh each as interim compensation.

It has also said that water seepage in the area has been stopped by engineers with help from overseas experts, who were flown in soon after the incident.

Work for 9.8-km of the 10.9-km-long underground tunnel for the East-West Metro corridor, which would connect Salt Lake in the east and Howrah in the west, has been completed.

The tunnel is being bored under the Hooghly River to connect the twin cities of Kolkata and Howrah through rapid transit system, spanning a length of 16.6 km -- from Howrah Maidan to the IT hub in Sector 5 of Salt Lake.

The new Metro corridor passes through some of Kolkata's most-congested areas where there are many century- old buildings, some of which are in dilapidated condition.