CHARACTER ASSASSINATION: the Hafeez Contractor Syndrome (Calcutta)

CHARACTER ASSASSINATION
The building boom has moved to the north. But unlike the south, the 
brand-new housing projects proliferating in this gray area stick out a 
mile

The two tall buildings of 1920s vintage stood side by side at one corner 
of Girish Park. The one at 209 Chittaranjan Avenue with its projecting 
balconies and triangular pediment crowned with an urn was the more showy 
of the two. Before the two were demolished a little more than a year 
ago, they had been vacant for quite some time. All the doors and windows 
were shuttered and in the evening they looked haunted.

Then one day about two years ago, both were swathed in polythene sheets. 
In a few days, all that was left of the two was their shells. The sky 
was visible through the top floor. Soon both buildings were erased from 
the Vivekananda Road crossing. Construction work began almost overnight. 
And with equal alacrity the developers were through with their work. 
Twin glass towers have come up there with enviable speed. One houses a 
bank now. The second is a health club.


cont'd....
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070408/asp/calcutta/story_7578552.asp

[Split image: The old building near Girish Park that was replaced 
recently by a glass tower. Pictures by Soumitra Das and Bishwarup Dutta]