When residents of 16 and 16/1 Durga Pithuri Lane stepped inside their centuries-old house today, they were left teary-eyed and in apprehensions if they would ever be able to return to the ancestral home that had sheltered them through thick and thin for decades.
As the partial demolition of one of the structures, marked as most precarious by the Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRCL) started today, the razing of the buildings left the residents wishing only to relive their lives in the present rubble, which was once their home. Days after they were evacuated out from their homes at Durga Pithuri Lane, they stepped inside their house today to collect and shift their life-time savings and valuables. The trauma of leaving the house once again was already giving them sleepless nights, the news of demolition of the two premises had added to the agony of the occupants of those buildings. “Last time when we re-shifted here there was some hope of reliving the old cherished life in our own house. But now, all hopes are lost after we came to know that we might not be able to live the old life again,” rued an inconsolable resident of the building.
As the occupants of 16 and 16/1 gathered and shifted their belongings to a godown provided to them by the implementing agency of the project, their neighbours at 15 Durga Pithuri Lane stared at their uncertain future, as if waiting for their turn to become homeless. Their building, which was already declared ‘dangerous’ by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, is seen leaning on the adjacent premise after the latest cracks and awaits a nod for demolition from the civic body.
“We are informed that our building will also be demolished soon. After the first cracks in 2019, we were already struggling to be able to make our ends meet. After being homeless and losing our house, we are doubtful if we would be able to return here any time soon,” said a resident of 15 Durga Pithuri Lane.
Meanwhile, soil engineering experts from Jadavpur University visited the affected site today to take a note of the cracks and crevices. The experts from the eminent institution will provide a report on the affected structures to the KMC.