Door Knocked, Told To Vacate...Why 52 Kolkata Residents Were Forced Out Of Their Homes In Midnight?

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In midnight on Friday, 52 Kolkata residents were jolted awake and ordered to vacate their homes without any prior warning. Metro employees, dispatched under urgent orders, knocked on doors in the dead of night, instructing families to immediately leave due to a potential hazard. 

The incident occurred in Durga Pituri Lane in the city’s Bowbazar area where Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (KMRCL) relocated residents to nearby hotels as a precaution. The evacuation was prompted by reports of an underground water leak discovered during tunnel drilling on the Sealdah-Esplanade section of the East-West Metro corridor, reported PTI. 

In response, residents temporarily blocked access to Central Metro station, disrupting commuter movement during peak office hours. Kolkata Police acted swiftly, intervening to restore normalcy and ease the inconvenience faced by passengers. Despite the intervention, residents remained frustrated, accusing officials of failing to take responsibility for the ongoing problems as the issue is years old. 

A KMRCL official said, "We have moved 52 people from 11 families to four nearby hotels as a precaution. Engineers said the leak has been contained, but we will monitor the situation for another day or two before allowing residents to return." 

What Is Kolkata Metro Drilling Row 

The issues of subsidence and building cracks have been ongoing since 2022, with significant damage reported in Durga Pituri in 2022 and 2023. 

Local councillor Biswarup Dey voiced his dissatisfaction, stating, " People are fed up. Since 2019, KMRCL has failed to provide a deadline for resolving these issues. No one is taking responsibility, and people have been displaced from their homes." 

The displaced residents of Bowbazar, central Kolkata, echoed similar sentiments, demanding accountability from officials. One resident remarked, "Every officer is shifting their responsibility to someone else. We want someone to take responsibility."