72k sqft port land leased to warehousing co for 30 years
Times of India | 25 June 2026
Kolkata: The under-construction structure, which collapsed on Transport Depot Road near Taratala on Wednesday, was coming up on a plot, leased by Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata, to Behera Brothers for a warehouse and cold storage facility.
Sanjoy Kumar Mukherjee, public relations officer of SMPK, said the plot, measuring around 72,000 sq ft, was leased to the city-based warehousing company for 30 years from Aug 1, 2024. “Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, as the lessor of the land, grants permissions/NOCs only to the extent required under the lease terms. The lessee is solely responsible for obtaining all statutory approvals, permissions, sanctions and clearances from the authorities, including the KMC and other regulatory agencies, prior to the start of any construction activity. On completion of the construction, the lessee has to obtain all approvals, certifications and occupancy-related permissions from the statutory authorities,” Mukherjee said.
Behera Brothers, established in the 1970s, primarily handles storage of tea and other products and is engaged in logistics and supply chain management. Sambhu Behera, an Odisha-based businessman with an office in New Alipore, acknowledged he was the leaseholder of the land and said work on the project started in Jan. He said he engaged Ayaan Traders as the developer, executing the project. Ayaan Traders later sub-contracted the work to Kamal Samanta, he said, adding Azgar Hossain was the contractor overseeing construction.
Behera claimed of the 72,000 sq ft plot, permission was granted for construction on about 32,000 sq ft land and that the project was intended to serve as a warehouse, primarily linked to his tea business. He claimed construction started only after obtaining clearances from KMC and the port authority. An earlier structure at the site was demolished to make way for the warehouse work.
As rescue teams continued efforts to pull survivors from the debris, Behera maintained the structure was being built with all necessary approvals and suggested that construction-related lapses might have led to the collapse.
SMPK had mobilised cranes for rescue and debris clearance. Gas-cutter sets and port fire brigade units were also sent to the site. “Estate division and port security teams reached the site immediately for coordination. Senior SMPA officers reached the site,” Mukherjee added.