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Bengal

Tapas Roy vacates BB Ganguly Street residence as fear of building collapse looms large

Kolkata: State Planning and Statistics minister Tapas Roy on Thursday vacated his house situated at B B Ganguly Street, as more houses are under threat of collapsing due to the East-West Metro work undertaken by Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Limited (KMRCL).

"I am shifting with my family to the place provided by the government. My son is not here. I am shifting there along with my daughter and wife," Roy told reporters before leaving his premises.

According to sources, the minister is shifting to a house arranged by the state government at Syed Amir Ali Avenue. The minister was staying at the top floor of the building situated at 105 B B Ganguly Street, for the last 13 years.

When asked the about the collapsed buildings and the resulting inconvenience faced by the residents, the minister said: "I have a social bond with this place. I have been a councillor of this area for 10 years. I don't know what to say at this point of time. We are all facing this tough situation. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the KMRCL officials are taking all the safety measures to protect the people."

On Wednesday, KMRCL officials came to the minister's residence and asked him to vacate as cracks have appeared in most of the adjacent buildings in the area.

Several residents of the minister's building were asked to move out as well, as there is possibility of more houses being affected.

52 houses have been partially or wholly damaged since Saturday. This apart, 20 more houses have collapsed on Wednesday. Roy was asked to vacate his flat by 11 am on Thursday. However, he vacated the flat at 2:30 pm.

Meanwhile, the local residents of Gour De Lane who were asked to vacate houses, created a blockade at B B Ganguly Street on Thursday morning. Around 70 to 80 residents gathered in the area and staged a demonstration.

The residents demanded immediate resettlement as they were finding it difficult to find immediate accommodation and have not been able to move out without important documents and valuables.

They pointed out that they will vacate their houses only when the state government provides in writing that it will bear the repair cost of the damages caused to their houses. The protest started at 10.30 am and ended after 11.30 am.

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