Families in other tilted bldgs keep fingers crossed
Times of India | 16 January 2025
Kolkata: The images of the "uprooted" three-storey apartment in Baghajatin have rekindled fears among residents of other tilted buildings in the city, who have been spending sleepless nights, anxious about a similar fate.
Many of these other tilted buildings have been leaning over for decades, and the residents seem to have got used to it, though the niggling worries have never left. Nearly five decades ago, when the construction of the North-South Metro was going on, a multi-storey building on Chowringhee started leaning onto a neighbouring building. The Metro Railway had then said there was no problem with the foundation of the leaning structure, which housed apartments of three families and some commercial establishments, including a guesthouse. An old-time resident there, Khandahar Kahirul Islam, said, "We have been living in this house for 27 years. Though no disaster has occurred so far, we are worried. We live with a risk."
Similar is the fate of the eight-storey Centre Point on Shakespeare Sarani. Bablu Pyne, the caretaker of the house, said, "This building houses three flats and commercial establishments. It has been tilting for years but it has so far resisted earthquakes. We don't feel unsafe but a structural survey is welcome."
Two residential buildings on Camac Street lean towards each other. The top floors of these 10-storey buildings are so close that two persons on those levels can lean out and shake hands. Urbashi, the building that stands at 12C, Camac Street, was built in 1972 and the adjacent one at 12A, a couple of years later. A resident of Urbashi claimed faulty foundation work of the adjacent building led to both buildings tilting towards each other.
Last year, residents of Megha Apartment on James Long Sarani lodged a complaint at the Thakurpukur PS that the five-storey structure had been tilting towards right over years. About 24 families still live there though KMC engineers assessed it as unsafe. Ramen Haldar, a resident, said, "The matter reached court. We are worried about living in this unsafe building. A govt contractor said over Rs 21 lakh would be needed to repair it. The money is yet to be collected and we fear the house may collapse at any time."
In New Town, multiple five-storey buildings at CA, CD and DB blocks can be seen leaning. "I got an NOC from NKDA after five years as the house tilted. But I do not feel there is anything to worry about as of now," said a resident. But another resident is not so confident. "We are worried after what happened in Garden Reach and now, in Baghajatin. It would be good if the authorities took steps," he said.
NKDA officials agreed there were about four such structures in New Town. "There is no imminent danger of collapse unless a large-scale natural disaster, like a severe earthquake, takes place. The buildings may have tilted due to uneven settlement of soil. We have written to the advocate-general, seeking advice. Once we get a communication, we will send notices to the owners and developers," said an NKDA official.