A septuagenarian in Beleghata on Saturday hired a backhoe loader to demolish a two-storey structure in front of his house that had functioned as a Trinamool office for more than a decade.
Manik Lal Kundu said the structure had come up in 2012, a year after he began constructing a building on a four-cottah plot on Debendra Chandra Dey Road. He alleged that he had faced resistance from a section of local Trinamool supporters during the construction.
“I began constructing the building in 2011, when the Trinamool first came to power, with all necessary clearances from the Kolkata Municipal Corporation,” Kundu told Metro. “In keeping with the approved plan, I had left some space in front of the building. The Trinamool office came up in that space.”
On Saturday morning, Kundu, his wife and daughter watched as the backhoe loader tore through the concrete structure while labourers with sledgehammers assisted in the demolition.
The family said that after the change of guard in the state on May 4, they approached Beleghata police station with a fresh complaint and also informed a section of political leaders about their decision to demolish it. “The police and the administration stood by me, and I owe my gratitude to everyone,” Kundu said.
“A local Trinamool leader came to remind me that I had given written consent for the structure. But when I told him I had been forced to allow the construction, he left.”
Trinamool Bhaban notice
The owner of a building on Canal South Road in Topsia that houses the rented Trinamool office — Trinamool Bhaban — has asked party leaders to vacate the premises within two months.
The office was set up on the ground floor of the five-storey building off EM Bypass in May 2022 after the party’s original office was shut for renovation.
“I have verbally asked the Trinamool leadership to vacate the property within two months,” said owner Mantu Saha. “After May 4, there were a few incidents of stone-pelting. I want to keep the property secure. The leadership has assured me they will move out,” he added.
