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Vivekananda flyover collapse: Residents battle daily inconvenience, no final decision to bring down remaining structure

Nearly two years after the collapse of Vivekananda Road flyover, even as the state government is undecided whether to pull down the remaining structure, residents of the locality want the rest of what remains after the collapse, to be dismantled.

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March 2016
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Nearly two years after the collapse of Vivekananda Road flyover, even as the state government is undecided whether to pull down the remaining structure, residents of the locality want the rest of what remains after the collapse, to be dismantled.

The flyover ramp is about three feet away from the French window of Saroj Khandelwal apartment which is on the third floor of a 10-storey building on 36/2 Vivekananda Road. “Residents of this building throw garbage off their windows in plastic packets. Some packets hit the flyover and get into our apartment through the window.


This is one of the biggest menaces now. Besides, our apartment which used to be airy and well-lit is now dark and damp. We hope the government brings down this remaining structure to save us from this revolting predicament,” Khandelwal said.

The situation of Sudha Joshi’s place is worse. Because of the construction, the window of her room on the third floor of the apartment building on 15 Vivekananda Road cannot be opened fully but can be opened just enough to let a person in through the window. “We face a serious security threat here and that is why shifted a floor below. Thank God we own that place as well.

In fact, when the flyover collapsed, some of the labourers working on it escaped through our room,” she said. She added that they were still apprehensive because trucks hitting the flyover pillars have become a regular affair. “Trucks coming down Posta market often have drunk drivers behind the wheels. Late into the night coming at breakneck speed, they hit the iron pillars of the flyover making a huge noise. It might lead to the collapse of another portion of the flyover. The government better brings it down in parts,” Joshi added. She also said that they had been trying to sell their property and shift somewhere else but the accident had made the place jinxed. “The ill-planned flyover has brought down the prices of all the adjoining property drastically. We are unable to sell it owing to the steep fall in price,” she said.

Others like Hemant Shah who live at 9 Vivekananda Road, had the luxury of a balcony which overlooked the street now have the flyover on top of the balcony.


“If this structure collapses it will take down the balcony with it, jeopardising the entire building. We are risking our lives every day,” he said.

Rajesh Shaw owns a small shop which has incidentally come under the flyover. He had witnessed the flyover collapse on March 31, 2016. 

“It happened right before my eyes. Within seconds the chunk of concrete had buried several people and covered the entire area with smokes of dust. We were running around for our lives. If is it cleared from here there can be a two-way traffic movement on this road which, at present is a one-way lane thanks to the pillars of the flyover which has narrowed down the passage,” Shaw said.

Sources at Nabanna said that even after the recommendation of IIT Kharagpur of dismantling the flyover as they thought it was not safe, the state government was still undecided about it and wanted a second opinion. According to the report of IIT Kharagpur, the flyover which was proposed to be 2.2 km and had been commissioned in 2008, had serious flaws in design and material. A committee headed by state Chief Secretary Moloy De will take a decision on whether to order dismantling of the flyover or go ahead with the construction. It was also found out that while the initial estimated cost of putting up the flyover was Rs 164 crore it will cost Rs 100 crore to dismantle it. The case was taken over by the Detective Department of Kolkata Police after the very next day when it occurred. A senior official of the department said that the case had been charge-sheeted and 16 persons had been arrested. "All the 16 arrested are out on bail at present," he said.

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