People gather as a building is being bulldozed during a demolition drive launched by the West Bengal government against illegal structures following the factory fire that killed two persons, at Tiljala area, in Kolkata, on May 13, 2026.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Bulldozers razed a Trinamool Congress party office and a clock tower, both illegal structures, in West Bengal on Thursday (May 14, 2026). This comes a day after an allegedly illegal tannery was brought down in Kolkata’s Tiljala area after a fire broke out in the building, killing two and injuring three persons.
A Kolkata Municipal Corporation team demolished a green clock tower in south Kolkata’s Garia area. Locals had reportedly complained about the structure being illegal, but authorities did not take action even after a court had issued an order to demolish it in 2025.
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The clock tower was inaugurated by former Trinamool MLA and Minister Aroop Biswas. He lost his Tollygunge seat in the Assembly elections to Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) candidate Papiya Adhikari.
“They built the clock tower inside our playground. Aroop Biswas’ men threatened our club members when we protested against it,” a local resident said.
Several clock towers had come up in parts of Kolkata in the past few years during the Trinamool’s rule in the State. Some also resembled the iconic Big Ben of London.
In a separate incident in North 24 Parganas’ Naihati area, an illegal Trinamool party office was razed. Authorities said the party office was constructed on land belonging to the Railways.
On Wednesday (May 13, 2026), Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had said that the government will have a “zero-tolerance policy” towards illegal structures and corruption in unlawful factories.
“We have asked the electricity supplier to permanently stop the power supply and directed CESC [the distributor] to immediately disconnect the power to illegal factories in the Tiljala, Kasba, and Mominpur areas. We have told them to do an immediate audit to see who does not have sanctioned building plans. Power supply to such buildings must be stopped immediately,” he had said.
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As per his instructions, the corporation is preparing a list of illegal factories in Kolkata, and it will be handed over to CESC and the civic body’s water department on Thursday (May 14, 2026).
Bulldozers were deployed in the State just days after the BJP stormed to power. A Trinamool party office and other structures were razed in Kolkata’s New Market area a day after the victory on May 5.
Published – May 14, 2026 08:08 pm IST
