KMC issues stop work order, serves notices to 2 engineers, bldg owner
A day after a considerable portion of an old building in Bowbazar collapsed allegedly due to demolition of the adjacent structure, Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) issued a stop work order and sent a notice to the owner of the razed building, besides asking the license building surveyor (LBS) and the empanelled structural engineer concerned to show cause.
On Wednesday, the civic body is learnt to have issued a stop work order and have also sent a notice to the owner of the building which is due for reconstruction. Additionally, KMC has also asked the license building surveyor (LBS) and the empanelled structural engineer to show cause since they were responsible for supervising the reconstruction work. Further, the building under demolition needs to be enveloped with a net covering, it was instructed.
It was further learnt that the owner of the property was reportedly asked to pay compensation to the residents of the affected building while directing that demolition can be resumed only after the residents of the adjacent buildings give a no-objection letter to the civic body. On Tuesday, the partial collapse of the building at Ramkanai Adhikari Lane in Bowbazar left the residents panicked while paving the way for allegations that the demolition of the adjacent building was not being done according to rules. It was alleged that the vibration from the deconstruction process had led to the collapse in the old building which dates back to the British era. Further, the residents had a close shave since a large part of the ceiling collapsed inside the room on the bed.
The local councillor, Biswarup Dey told the media that unlike in the construction process, there is no specific rule for demolition while also confirming that the building was being demolished after obtaining reconstruction permission from the civic body.
He had said that KMC will also think about rehabilitation of the affected residents. However, his assurance did little to comfort the residents who feared another collapse if the demolition work continued.
