Kolkata Metro Railway engineers on Tuesday assessed the condition of an old building in Bowbazar, part of which collapsed on December 7, even as the authorities maintained that the Metro is not responsible for any recent damage to the structure as no heavy engineering work is currently underway in the area.

Around noon December 7, part of the roof of the house located on Madan Dutta Lane, located above the Sealdah-Esplanade stretch of the Green Line, collapsed, injuring one.

Informing that the damaged portion of the ground floor of the G+2 storied building at 107, BB Ganguly Street was inspected by its engineers, a Metro spokesperson said the underground tunnelling work here had been completed, and no heavy engineering work is going on.

"Still Metro engineers immediately rushed to the spot as a goodwill gesture," he said, adding temporary support structures were provided to ensure the safety of the residents.

"It has been found that even before the East–West Metro tunnelling work began, age-related deterioration of the building had started. Repair of previous damages due to age-related deterioration and lack of maintenance by the residents is beyond the scope of Kolkata Metro Railway," he said.

With tunnelling work completed and services fully operational, the spokesperson asserted that the Metro is "not responsible for any further damages to buildings in the area, nor responsible for repairs or compensation".

The Metro authorities have requested the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) to inspect the century-old structure and take appropriate action.

The entire Howrah Maidan–Salt Lake Sector V corridor of the Green Line was commissioned in August, following the opening of the Esplanade–Sealdah stretch after successful tunnelling and system testing.

Bowbazar has witnessed multiple building collapses since 2019, when cracks appeared in several structures during Metro construction, forcing residents of Durga Pituri Lane, Madan Dutta Lane and nearby areas to relocate for months.

A similar collapse last year also led to evacuations. Most affected families, including residents of the building that partially collapsed on Sunday, had returned nearly eight months ago, police said.

Family members claimed they had felt vibrations whenever a train passed below and had alerted Metro authorities about the issue around 10 days ago.

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