Evacuation due to E-W Metro works begins

The evacuation process of the residents of the 86 buildings located on SN Banerjee Road due to the construction works of the East West Metro has started. The residents of these buildings which fall in between the 800-meter stretch between the Esplanade crossing and Subodh Mullick Square are being relocated temporarily till the tunnel boring work is completed. The Kolkata Metro Railway Corporation Ltd had earlier put up notices to inform the residents of the identified buildings to evacuate the buildings temporarily for safety reasons during the tunnel boring work. The construction company ITD-CEM which is carrying out the construction work for the tunnels of East West Metro had surveyed the construction area and identified 86 buildings as old and weak and those are to be strengthened. If not strengthened these buildings will be deeply affected by the vibrations caused due to the operations of the tunnel boring machines and can even collapse. The work of strengthening the buildings has thus started before the commencement of the tunnel boring operations. Tonnes of mixture of cement and water are being injected into the concrete base of the buildings and steel props are being used to support the structures from both inside and outside. 15 families which are being evacuated will be able to return to their homes as soon as the tunnelling process going on under the buildings end, which would roughly take twelve to fourteen months.