Residents Complain That The Compensation Being Given By Kolkata Metro Railway Corporation Is Too Little, Too Late
The Kolkata Metro Railway Corporation Ltd. (KMRCL) started the process of issuing compensation checks to the owners of homes and businesses in the city’s Bowbazar neighborhood that have been impacted by the ongoing metro tunneling project on 24 November.
Some of the people who received the checks complained that the compensation was paltry and that it took too long for the authorities to start the procedure.
In October, a number of families were forced to leave their homes in Bowbazar’s Madan Dutta Lane after subsidence brought on by East-West Metro tunneling caused cracks to appear in their homes. The organization in charge of carrying out the infrastructure project is the KMRCL.
On 24 November, checks for compensation were issued to a total of 17 individuals. Eleven locals received compensation, while six of the recipients were local business owners or traders. Each of the 11 residents received Rs. 5 lakh, and each of the six shop owners received either Rs. 5 lakh or Rs. 1.5 lakh.
A total of 32 families, totaling 195 people, were displaced, according to the authorities. It is learned that out of the 195, at least 36 have come back.
According to officials, the repairs are ongoing. However, until the expert committee issues a green light, metro construction is still on hold.
Ten homes in Bowbazar started to fracture on October 14; thus, nearly 195 people were moved to hotels.
Due to earth subsidence, structures at Bowbazar’s Durga Pithuri Lane developed fractures before collapsing in August 2019 and May of this year.
On May 11, more than 140 people were relocated to motels after at least 12 houses on Durga Pithuri Lane sustained structural damage.
A busy older neighborhood in north Kolkata is called Bowbazar. The area’s impacted structures date back many years. The majority of the properties in this region, including homes and businesses, have been leased, mortgaged, sublet, and rented out numerous times during the past few decades. Some of the structures in Bowbazar’s winding passageways date back more than 200 years.
News Mania Desk
