KMRCL committee conducts health study of 11 buildings at Bowbazar

Kolkata: The committee headed by an emeritus professor of Jadavpur University's civil engineering department carried out health study of 11 buildings at Bowbazar on Tuesday, that have suffered damages due to the tunnel boring work for the East-West Metro project.

A total of approximately 74 buildings have suffered damages or developed cracks and the residents of all these buildings have already been evacuated and shifted to various hotels by Kolkata Metro Railway Corporation Ltd (KMRCL), the executing agency of the E-W project.

"We have kicked off the process of identifying the buildings that can be restored and the ones that need to be demolished. We have already done it for 11 houses today (Tuesday)," said Nitin Som, emeritus professor of Jadavpur University's civil engineering department, who heads the committee of KMRCL constituted for health study of the buildings.

It may be mentioned that the committee will categorise the buildings as per their extent of damage. In the first phase, the buildings that can be repaired through minor work will be identified, while the second phase

will cover those buildings that have suffered damages to an extent of restoration. Lastly, the third phase will cover those buildings with heavy damages.

"The third phase is a complicated process as these buildings need detailed investigation before taking a decision on whether they can be restored through heavy repair or have to be demolished," a KMRCL official said.

More than 600 residents living at Durga Pithuri Lane, Syakra Para Lane and Gour De Lane have been evacuated for safety reasons and have been lodged at hotels in different places of Central Kolkata.

KMRCL has already identified five buildings at Durga Pithuri Lane that should be pulled down and work for the same has already started on Monday. Two buildings have already been pulled down.

The engineers on Tuesday were found taking measures to strengthen a couple of buildings at Syakra Para Lane, to ensure that they do not collapse due to demolition work or clearing of debris in and around these buildings.

It may be mentioned that a machine that was boring an East-

West Metro tunnel in Bowbazar,

had hit a giant aquifer on August 31. Water from the aquifer flooded the tunnel, leading to widespread subsidence.