Behala road splits from middle a day after completion as strong earthquake tremors jolt Kolkata

Strong tremors were felt across Kolkata and several districts of south Bengal on Friday afternoon after a 5.5-magnitude earthquake struck neighbouring Bangladesh, triggering panic among residents. The quake hit at 1:22 pm IST at a depth of 10 km, with its epicentre at Nayabazar in Bangladesh, around 100 km from Kolkata. The sudden shaking forced people to rush out of homes and offices as ceiling fans swayed and objects rattled.

In Behala’s Parnasree Pally, an upscale residential area in southern Kolkata, a newly constructed road at Manna Para developed a massive crack shortly after the tremors were felt. The stretch had been completed just a day earlier under the ‘Amader Para Amader Samadhan’ project. Local residents claimed the road surface split into two parts following the earthquake, raising concerns about the durability and quality of the construction.

The tremors were described by many as unusually intense for the city, with buildings swaying for several seconds. The epicentre’s proximity to the India-Bangladesh border and the region’s soft alluvial soil are believed to have amplified the shaking across south Bengal. While no major damage was immediately reported elsewhere, the incident in Parnasree created fear among residents and prompted demands for inspection of the affected road.