Kolkata Municipal Corporation Begins Demolition of Unauthorised Building Following High Court Order

On Saturday, a group from the structures department of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) started tearing down a six-story building located on MN Chatterjee Sarani in Narkeldanga, north Kolkata.

The "unauthorised structure" was to be demolished, under the direction of the Calcutta High Court.

The group, which included police, laborers, and senior authorities, arrived at the building on 3D/H/7 MN. Around midday, Chatterjee Sarani approached him and requested the keys to the temporary door leading to the staircase.

In a few minutes, a young person from the area showed up with the keys.

With a copy of the Friday ruling from the high court in hand, the team ascended the steps to the top of the building, where engineers gave the laborers a briefing on what needed to be done and how to do it.

Equipped with mortised chisels and hammers, they commenced rupturing the concrete surfaces of the floors, subsequently perforating holes through the web of iron rods and cables.

After creating a little depression, the holes in the concrete surface were progressively larger in diameter.

The plan, according to senior KMC officials, was to make sure that the strength of the concrete gradually loosened before gradually demolishing the building.

"Due to the dense population in the surrounding area and the presence of multiple shops on the ground floor, payloaders and bulldozers cannot be utilized for the demolition task," a senior KMC representative stated.

The official declared, "This demolition work is a drawn-out process and we will resume it on Monday."

A resident of the building filed an appeal seeking a stay of the court's demolition decision, but Justice Amrita Sinha of the Calcutta High Court denied it on Friday.

In case the building collapses, who will save you? On Saturday, the demolition will start. She denied the request for a stay of action and stated, "The police will be present."

"Since the entire structure stands vacated of its residents, we don't expect much resistance," a senior officer of the Narkeldanga police station stated. To make the KMC officials feel safe and protected, a roster for deployment at the demolition site has been created.

Some locals claimed that the structure had been constructed in under six or seven months, going beyond all guidelines established by the civic organization.

The proprietor of a store on the ground level of the structure stated, "Work, like plastering the interior walls, was on till about a month and a half back."

The proprietor of the store expressed, "We just hope this time the entire structure is pulled down and not left with just a few holes in the concrete slabs."

The building's upper two stories sustained damage upon the arrival of a KMC crew in January. On Friday, he had stated, "Some of the walls were pulled down and holes made in the floors."

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