KMC to raze one tilted structure, assess fate of the other on Tangra’s Christopher Road
Telegraph | 29 January 2025
A structural engineer hired by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) to assess the two tilted buildings on Tangra’s Christopher Road has suggested that the one under construction be pulled down first to determine if the other, where families have been living for months, can be retained or not.
Mayor Firhad Hakim said that based on the engineer’s advice, the KMC has decided to pull down the under-construction structure.
Two buildings on Christopher Road have tilted dangerously towards each other. One of the buildings, a five-storey structure with light green exterior paint, has families living there for over a year.
The other, a six-storey structure, is being constructed for close to a year.
Hakim said the KMC has urged the residents of the five-storey structure not to stay in the building till a structural engineer certifies it as fit for living.
“The (six-storey) building will be demolished under the supervision of a structural engineer,” Hakim said.
He had said on Friday that the fate of the two buildings would depend on the structural engineer’s report, which was expected on Monday.
“The structural engineer has not filed a report yet but he has suggested that the (under-construction) building be demolished. We have decided to pull it down,” Hakim said on Monday.
“After the structure is razed, we will assess the condition of the other building. Based on the assessment we will decide whether the building where families are living can be retained or not. This is what the structural engineer has said,” Hakim said.
Thirteen families now live in the five-storey building, said Mina Sengupta, one of the residents.
“All the families are still living here. The power supply has been cut off. We cannot use the pump to fill the water tank. A neighbour is providing us with water,” said Sengupta, who lives on a first-floor flat with her son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter.
“Where will we go? This building was completed one-year-and-seven-months back. If the government provides us with accommodation, we can shift. It is not possible for us to take a flat or house on rent,” she said.
Hakim said the KMC has urged the residents tovacate the building and not come back till a structural engineer certified that it wassafe to live there. “Our priority is the safety of people,” he said.
A provision to allow concessions to buildings coming up on plots less than three cottahs will be incorporated in the KMC building rules soon, the mayor said. “It will help owners of small plots to get building plans sanctioned by the KMC.”
A senior KMC official said the civic body had received complaints of multiple tilted buildings over the past few days.
“Some of the buildings came up years ago. We have asked the residents and owners of the buildings to get them reviewed by a structural engineer. Ideally, the owners should get the buildings checked by a structural engineer themselves,” the official said.