Howrah subsidence: Residents demand rehabilitation help, minister Firhad Hakim promises action in 4 days, outlines plan for dumping ground
Times of India | 25 March 2025
123456 Howrah: Urban development minister Firhad Hakim ran into protests on Monday as he visited Belgachhia in Howrah, where successive landslides occurred last week due to overload of municipal waste at the dumping ground there. Residents, who have been temporarily evacuated from their homes, which developed huge cracks following the subsidence, threatened to block roads and march to Nabanna if they did not receive assistance for proper rehabilitation. The minister promised constructive action within three to four days and also outlined a plan for restoration of the dumping ground. The state pledged support for repairs and rehabilitation, including potential new housing construction.
The landslides, which started on March 19, damaged nearby houses and roads and also led to a pipe-burst, leading to widespread disruption in water supply. More episodes of subsidence were reported on Sunday night and Monday, too, reportedly affecting hundreds of more houses. Although water was restored in central Howrah and Shibpur on Saturday and the rest of Howrah on Sunday, residents of north Howrah and Liluah complained about receiving contaminated supply from the new municipal pipes.
As Hakim visited the area, residents staged a demonstration, demanding his intervention to ensure house repairs and proper resettlement. The residents claimed that some of the displaced families were living under tarpaulins outside their damaged homes, exposed to polluted water, causing skin ailments. Some living near an adjacent pond reported structural damage to their houses, seeking govt intervention. They expressed their unwillingness to vacate without proper rehabilitation arrangements. Hakim promised action within three to four days. Pointing out bio-mining at the Belgachhia dumping ground led to soil instability, which in turn, caused structural damage to nearby houses, Hakim said operations at the site grew for years without proper planning as numerous illegal settlements mushroomed there. He outlined plans to transport waste elsewhere for processing and to set up a processing facility in the cleared space. He committed to prevent future dumps in Howrah, projecting a three-year timeline for clearing the current site. The strategy includes deploying portable compactors and constructing a compactor station. The plan extends to clearing the Dhapa ground in Kolkata through bio-mining.
A meeting of the urban development department has been slated for Tuesday. Among those in attendance will be representatives from Howrah Municipal Corporation and Bali municipality to address road and drainage repairs. Hakim requested a few days to draft appropriate measures, acknowledging the need to relocate residents due to unstable ground conditions.
About the water problems, Hakim announced the installation of a 400-metre pipe by Tuesday to service the remaining areas of Bali and Liluah, where supply had not been restored properly. Officials also promised resolution within days as north Howrah and Liluah residents complained about contaminated water from new municipal pipes.