Rendered homeless; 2 residents die of shock

Kolkata: Two residents of Syakra Para Lane died due to shock as they witnessed their houses in a state of shambles due to the ongoing East-West Metro project work.

The elderly persons, identified as Anjali Mullick and Ganesh Prakash Gupta breathed their last at the GD Hospital.

Anjali, whose husband died 10 years ago, was a resident of 2/1 B, Syakra Para Lane for the last 70 years. On August 31, 2019, she was initially not willing to vacate her house when the Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Limited (KMRCL) officials asked Syakra Para Lane residents to shift due to the Metro work. However, she was shifted to Hotel Embassy on the same day. The octogenarian has three daughters who used to come to visit her at the hotel.

On Sunday, the elderly woman felt unwell and was admitted to GD Hospital. She breathed her last at the hospital on Wednesday early morning.

She is the first victim of the Bowbazar mayhem, where tunnel boring has led to the collapse of one house after another, rendering the residents homeless.

"She was brought to the Syakra Para Lane today (September 11, 2019) as her last wish was to see her house," said Tapan Kumar Mondal, her nephew.

In the second incident, Ganesh, a resident of 10 Syakra Para lane, died at GD Hospital on Tuesday night. The 86-year-old used to live in a four-storeyed building. At around 4:30 am on September 1, the KMRCL officials asked Ganesh and his family members to vacate the crumbling house. Continued on P7