Bowbazar residents helpless with no place to call home

Kolkata: No homecoming awaits the residents of Bowbazar as they stare helplessly at their houses crumbling into the unstable land.

"We don't know where to go. We are homeless for the last five days. All our clothes, ornaments and money are in the house, which we are unable to collect," says Namita Das, a shop-owner, echoing the voice of several more sharing her plight.

Her snacks shop, known as Boudi's Kochuri, is famous among the local residents. "My husband and I run the shop. We sell singara, jalebi and tea. The shop is our only source of income," Namita, who has two daughters, told Millennium Post with tears in her eyes.

While 52 houses were partially or wholly damaged between Saturday and Tuesday, 20 more collapsed on Wednesday.

"I stay with my mother at 94 B B Ganguly Street. I neither have money to eat nor to go to office. I work as a back office employee at a company in Sector V. The date of my marriage has not been fixed but my mother had decided to get me married by February 2020. I don't know what to do," said Deboshree Roy, who lost her father two years ago.

The disaster in Bowbazar doesn't seem to have come to an end, as more houses have come under the threat of collapsing. The worst affected areas are Durga Pithuri Lane, Syakra Para Lane and Gour De Lane.

"On Wednesday, we came to know that we have to vacate today (Thursday) by 11 am. We have packed our luggage but don't know how long we have to stay away from our home," said Shravanti De of 105 B B Ganguly Street.