Kolkata metro: Displaced families’ long wait continues
Six years after metro project displacement, families still await homecoming, facing uncertainty and financial strain
Kolkata: Piyali Sen, 35, a former resident of Sakharipara Lane in central Kolkata, still shudders when she remembers the day she helplessly stood and watched portions of her century-old ancestral house develop cracks and collapse on August 29, 2019.
“We were asked by the authorities to vacate our three-storey house just for safety as the metro tunnel was being bored underground. We were told that we could return after two days. Six years have passed. We are yet to return home,” said Sen, who now lives in a rented apartment in Beliaghata with her family.
Around 52 residential buildings on Sakharipara Lane and Durga Pituri Lane in Bowbazar, one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Kolkata had developed cracks in August 2019 when the underground tunnel of the East-West Metro project was being constructed. Out of this 52, at least 24 buildings had to be demolished as they were beyond repair and portions had collapsed.
“Initially, the residents, who lost their houses, were put up in nearby hotels. But when it became obvious that the repair would take time, we were shifted to rented accommodations in different parts of the city. In 2019, we were told that it would take at least two years. It is September 2025 now, and we are still living in rented apartments,” said Sanjoy Sen, another resident of Sakharipara.
He now lives in an apartment in a nearby area, the rent of which is around ₹25,000. He said that while the Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (KMRCL) pays around ₹18,000, he has to pay the balance.
As the residents had to move out all of a sudden and couldn’t save or bring out their belongings from the crumbling buildings, it was decided in a meeting chaired by chief minister Mamata Banerjee that KMRCL would pay each family a sum of ₹5 lakh so that they could start a living. Apart from this, each family was given a bed made of wrought iron, a five-feet cupboard and some kitchen utensils among other things.
While some like Piyali Sen, still rues that she couldn’t bring out her pet birds as she had to hurriedly vacate the house moments before it collapsed, there are others who lost their documents and valuables and had to run from pillar to post all these years to get the duplicates of those documents.
On August 22 this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated three new sections on existing metro routes in Kolkata.
This includes the underground stretch between Sealdah and Esplanade, which passes through Bowbazar on the Green Line. The East West metro corridor is touted to be India’s first underwater metro tunnel. It was touted to be a puja-gift to Kolkatans.
In the last week of August this year, a meeting was held between the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), the KMRCL and the residents so that the reconstruction and repair of the buildings may start at the earliest. It was chaired by Firhad Hakim, mayor of Kolkata.
“While 24 buildings have been totally demolished and need to be constructed from scratch, there are 28 houses which suffered major damages. People are still living in those houses. They need to undergo some major repairs. The mayor has set a deadline of October 2026 by which the construction work has to be completed,” said Biswarup Dey, the KMC councillor of ward number 48 who was present in the meeting.
“The meeting ended with a positive note. Construction is expected to start soon. Tenders have also been awarded,” said a senior KMRCL official.
The residents, who have been waiting for the past six years to return to their houses, are, however, still apprehensive about the deadline.
“Initially we were told to vacate the building for two days. Then we were told that it would take two years. Six years have passed. Now a new deadline has been set. We hope this time the deadline is met. We were turned into tenants from landlords almost overnight. When we left home, my daughter had appeared for her class X board exam. This year she passed her graduation. My mother developed Alzheimer’s and passed away in 2023,” said Ashish Sen, another resident who now lives in a rented apartment in Amherst Street in north Kolkata.
A senior official said that the KMC has already sanctioned the plan for the new buildings which would be constructed in September 2024.
“Once the construction starts, our engineers will visit the reconstruction site regularly. A KMC-appointed committee comprising experts will monitor the buildings over the next few years as the metro is now operating and trains are running through the underground tunnel below Bowbazar,” said a senior KMC official.
