Seven years after East-West Metro construction forced them out of their homes, residents of Kolkata’s Durga Pituri Lane began returning on Thursday as the first seven families received keys to newly rebuilt houses. The rehabilitation process is being carried out by the Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Limited (KMRCL), which has committed to rebuilding 24 homes in the area.
The families had been living in rented accommodation since cracks and structural damage appeared in buildings along Durga Pituri Lane and nearby Sankrapara Lane during underground tunnelling work for the Howrah–Sealdah Metro route. Although services on the route have since begun, several affected residents had continued waiting to return to a permanent address.
The first handover took place at an event attended by West Bengal Industries Minister Tapas Roy, MLA Sajal Ghosh and former councillor Biswaroop Dey, according to a report by Sangbad Pratidin. The key handover marks the beginning of the return process for families whose houses were damaged during the construction-related incidents.
The first major incident took place on August 31, 2019, before Durga Puja, when sections of several houses in Bowbazar collapsed or developed cracks while tunnelling work was under way. Many residents left their homes as a precaution after the damage raised concerns about the safety of the buildings.
The area experienced further construction-related distress in the following years. On May 11, 2022, cracks reportedly reappeared in multiple houses in Durga Pituri Lane during tunnel work. Another episode of cracking was reported on October 14 that year in nearby Madan Dutta Lane, again before the festival period. These incidents extended the displacement of residents and delayed the reconstruction of affected properties.
The rehabilitation programme places KMRCL at the centre of the housing recovery effort. The agency is expected to rebuild all 24 identified homes, although Thursday’s handover covered seven families in the first phase. The return of these residents provides a concrete milestone after years of temporary accommodation, while the remaining affected households continue to await completion of their replacement homes.
The Bowbazar episode has linked the expansion of urban rail infrastructure with a prolonged housing and resettlement challenge in one of Kolkata’s dense inner-city neighbourhoods. For the residents who received keys, the immediate next step is returning to rebuilt homes. The remaining reconstruction and handover process will determine when all affected families can return.
