Kolkata: The owners of old buildings will seek the intervention of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee after cracks have appeared in some of them. They allege the buildings shake at night due to the movement of heavy vehicles.
Sukumar Rakshit, general secretary of House Owners' Association, said they would soon sent a letter to the Chief Minister and copy would be given to mayor Firhad Hakim seeking their intervention.
"We really do not know what to do. Some of the old buildings situated on Chittaranjan Avenue, Vivekananda Road, Bagbazar Street shake at night when heavy vehicles pass through these roads. We will request the state government to conduct a thorough inquiry by structural engineers."
Supriyo Halder who owns a century old building on Vivekananda Road said "It is a nightmare after sundown. At night the heavy vehicles are driven on high speed and the old buildings shake. Some of them may collapse any day."
The apprehension of the owners of old buildings is not without basis. Recently, cracks were detected on some of the buildings of Calcutta Medical College and Hospital that are situated close to Chittaranjan Avenue. The state Public Works Department ( PWD) in a letter to the hospital super Dr Indranil Biswas has said the buildings are safe and there is no reason to worry. The engineers of the department had conducted a thorough study of the structures where cracks have developed.
The cracks have appeared on the female ward of the Medicine department housed on the third floor of the building. Cracks have also come up on the Haematology department and Community Medicine department situated on the fourth and fifth floors of the building. The toilets have to be temporarily shut because of the crcks.
Dr Nirmal Maji, chairman of Rogi kalyan Samity said: "The experts have examined the structures and there is no reason to worry." The hospital authorities are considering where the departments in question can be shifted to other buildings for some months till the cracks get repaired.