East-West Metro work: Around 24 residents shifted from Bowbazar area after cracks appear in houses
Kolkata: Around 24 residents of Bowbazar area were shifted to a hotel after minor cracks appeared in their houses due to the ongoing East-West Metro work and will return home on Wednesday.
"We have been evacuated on Monday. Right now I am staying with my family members at a hotel nearby hotel. Most probably, we will shift to our home on Wednesday evening," said Dipankar Dutta, resident of 7, Durga Pithuri Lane.
Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Limited (KMRCL), had shifted 24 residents from two buildings (7, Durga Pithuri Lane and 94, BB Ganguly Street) to hotels two days after the tunnelling work resumed on Friday. While tunnel boring machine Chandi became redundant after hitting against an aquifer last year, on August 31, its twin Urvi will take up the task of burrowing the remaining portion covering a length of around 1.8 km. Following the Calcutta High Court order on February 11, KMRCL had restored the work along the Sealdah-bound tunnel on February 18. The tunnel boring work was again stopped due to nationwide lockdown imposed to curb COVID-19 spread on March 25.
"At a time when COVID- 19 cases are increasing rapidly, the safest place to live is home. Unfortunately, we are staying in a hotel," pointed out Dutta.
The entire stretch of East-West Metro from Salt Lake Sector V to Howrah Maidan is 16.5 kilometres.
The first phase of East West Metro, from Salt Lake Sector V station to Salt Lake Stadium station, was inaugurated by Railway minister Piyush Goyal on February 13.
