india

Updated: Sep 04, 2019 06:06 IST

The Kolkata Metro Railway Corporation (KMRC) on Tuesday informed the Calcutta high court that it had stopped underground construction on the East-West Metro corridor, following Sunday’s damage to several houses in the central parts of the city during a tunnel-boring work.

Admitting that at least five houses had collapsed owing to ground settlement from seepage after a tunnel-boring machine hit a water table, the KMRC counsel told a division bench presided by Chief Justice TBN Radhakrishnan that work will start only after getting the court’s nod.

Several buildings in the congested Bowbazar area have developed cracks, leaving hundreds homeless.

Hearing a public interest litigation seeking termination of underground drilling for metro tunnels in congested areas, the division bench directed the KMRC to apprise it of the developments in arresting further ground settlement and damage to buildings by September 16.

The court also asked the advocate general to make sure that the state government and the city civic authorities extend all cooperation in dealing with the situation and ensuring that the affected people are taken care of.

The bench will hear the PIL, which has also challenged the provisions of Metro Railway (Construction of Works) Act, 1978, again on September 16.