Residents of 18 buildings on Vivekananda Road allege cracks due to truck movement at night

Kolkata: The residents of 18 old buildings situated on Vivekananda Road alleged that the structures have developed cracks due to the movement of heavy-duty loaded trucks along the stretch at night.

They have written to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) and Shashi Panja, local MLA, seeking immediate intervention.

Seven of the affected buildings (premises no. 46 to 52) are situated in ward 25 while the remaining 11 buildings (premises no. 59 to 69) are in ward 26.

The residents alleged that the loaded heavy-duty trucks whose numbers vary between 20 and 25 and carry sand and construction materials move along Vivekananda Road at night. As a result, cracks have appeared in some of the structures they maintained.

Supriyo Halder, one such owner said most of these buildings are more than 100 years old and the entire structure shakes when trucks move with heavy speed at night. Cracks have appeared in some of them. "We had reported the matter to the Deputy Commissioner of Traffic but no action was taken. The 12 or 16 wheeled trucks are very heavy and when they move at high speed, the old structures shake and may collapse any time," he feared.

Senior officials of the building department of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) said as most of these structures are more than a century old, their foundations have become weak that might be affected due to the movement of such heavy-duty vehicles. The officials said the owners of these structures should examine the health of the houses with the help of structural engineers and approach the civic body along with their reports.