Clean-up drive starts at New Town murder-rape spot
Times of India | 16 February 2025
12 Kolkata: NKDA on Saturday started cutting down the bushes and the unbridled undergrowth along the New Town walkway that provided a perfect cover for the e-rickshaw (toto) driver, who murdered and raped a Class 8 girl at the spot last week.
The NKDA workers cleaned up the bushes and shrubs spread over a 10-acre area surrounding the crime spot. The land belongs to West Bengal Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation Ltd.
Officials stated that, generally, undergrowth was cleared after monsoon and at the end of winter.
Sources claimed often the clearing task was faced with financial hurdles as NKDA had no means to recover the fee for the job from landowners of allotted plots that were still vacant.
In case of unallotted plots, NKDA has to recover the fee from other govt agency, namely Hidco, which owns majority of New Town land. Most of such land in the township has already been sold, but many buyers have left their plots vacant, leading to thick overgrown vegetation.