Kolkata Warehouse Collapse: Mamata Banerjee Halts Construction, Orders Audit Till July 31

In the wake of a warehouse collapse in Kolkata's Taratala area that killed at least five labourers, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday ordered the suspension of all under-construction commercial projects in Kolkata until July 31.

Soon after visiting the collapse site, the chief minister stated that the building plan sanctioned by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) was faulty and announced a citywide audit and on-site inspections of all under-construction projects.

Addressing a press conference at Nabanna, the state secretariat, Banerjee said the building plan was sanctioned by the KMC on January 17, 2026, in the name of Shambhunath Behera, a partner of Behera Brothers.

In a statement, the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port Authority said it had granted a 30-year lease to M/s Behera Brothers with effect from August 1, 2024, for approximately 6,689 square metres of land to set up a multi-storied warehouse and cold storage facility.

“I have spoken with officials and engineers of the KMC. Initially, we found that a faulty building plan was sanctioned,” Banerjee said, adding that she had sought a detailed report. “Maybe some bribe money was paid to get the plan approved. Tomorrow, in the state Assembly, I will make a statement on action against such practices and compensation to the victims.”

“Keeping such anomalies in mind, we have ordered that all under-construction buildings in the KMC area, especially commercial ones, will stop work until July 31,” she said.

According to Banerjee, teams from the Public Works Department, KMC, Civil Defence, and Fire Services will conduct a special audit of under-construction projects, including verification of approved building plans and on-site inspections. “We will also request the metro and port authorities to allow similar audits in their areas,” the CM said.

The chief minister praised the response of the Kolkata police, army, and other agencies involved in the rescue operation. “Kolkata Police, Fire Services, the Army, and NDRF responded very quickly. Rescue operations are continuing, and we hope everyone trapped can be brought out safely,” she said.

Banerjee said the Army was called in after the scale of the collapse became clear. “After speaking to the Chief Secretary around 2.30 pm and assessing the gravity of the situation, we requested the Army to step in. By 3.15 pm, Army teams had joined the rescue operation. They had equipment capable of cutting through iron beams and concrete,” she said.

She added that 20 ambulances had been deployed, and Kolkata police made a free channel to send the injured to SSKM hospital without delay.

The chief minister said that, based on her preliminary assessment, neither heavy rainfall nor soil conditions appeared to have caused the collapse. “I am not an engineer, but what I saw at the site suggests that the structure did not collapse because of yesterday’s rain or soft soil. Had that been the reason, the structure would have bent before collapsing,” she said.