Kolkata: KMC engineers across 16 boroughs on Monday observed a cease-work, demanding the release of the sub-assistant engineer of Borough 15, arrested in connection with the collapse of an under-construction three-storey warehouse at Taratala in June, where 16 people were killed.One of the engineers said they would continue with the cease-work if KMC failed to “ensure proper justice for Aminur Sheikh, who had hardly any role in the entire episode leading to the collapse”. “We will call off the strike only if the civic brass show sincerity to resolve the crisis,” said an engineer.With the stalemate likely to continue on Tuesday, there are concerns about the cease-work’s impact on civic services as residents usually approach sub-assistant engineers in boroughs if they face water or drainage problems or want to get building plans sanctioned. “If the cease-work continues, all essential services at borough and ward levels will be hit. To spare citizens harassment, we want the civic brass to find a way to end the stalemate,” said a buildings department official, who was among those who met the municipal commissioner, Smita Pandey.Soon after Aminur Sheikh’s arrest from his home in Bansdroni on Saturday morning, sub-assistant engineers across civic departments from different boroughs converged on the KMC headquarters and staged a protest against the civic body not offering legal protection to Sheikh, who they alleged, was made a scapegoat. The protesters again gathered at KMC headquarters on Monday and took over the entire VIP corridor. They later went to the director-general (building)’s chamber to hand over a list of demands but in the DG’s absence, they interacted with other officials. Some directors-general held meetings with the representatives of the protesting engineers, who also met Pandey, seeking her intervention in providing security from legal hassle.
