"The market has been in a poor state for years, and repeated complaints to the authorities yielded no response. About a year ago, a lady suffered minor injuries after another chunk like this collapsed," said secretary of BJ Market Byabsayee Samity, Subir Saha.

The market has four gates, and the August 17 accident occurred at about 9am right outside the gate facing the park. No one was hurt. "This gate records high footfall as many eateries are located towards this entrance. If the chunk had fallen in the evening, people would certainly be crossing and could have got hurt," said Saha, who runs the Narayan sweet shop inside.

"We were working in our kitchen when we heard a loud crashing sound. We rushed out to see debris right outside the gate. A man was steps away from entering the building and was saved by a whisker," said Biplab Debnath, a staffer at the Scone eatery inside. "The walls of the men's toilet has cracks too, and we fear a similar fate any day."

BJ Market was built in the early 90s, but the secretary said no real repairs have ever been conducted. "Towards the end of the pandemic, they painted the market and fixed some tiles, but these are just cosmetic improvements. "Some 15 years ago, a bank on our first floor shut down, and the space has been lying vacant and neglected ever since. Its windows have broken, plants are growing wild inside, and rainwater seeps through its floors to the shops underneath," said Saha.

An official of the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation said they are aware that BJ and many other markets in Salt Lake are in dire need of repairs. "We have been receiving letters of complaints about them for long," he said. "But we have limited resources. After the BJ Market accident, we began emergency work on August 20. For now we are breaking the parapet on the roof so no other portion falls off. We shall prepare a detailed project report, but it will cost crores to repair the entire building."

The 16 block markets of Salt Lake have a combined traders' body - Bidhannagar Kendriya Bajar Byabsayee Samity - and its joint secretary Rishiraj Ghosh said they intend to take action. "All markets have complaints - some need structural repairs, some are facing water problems…. But after the fall of the last civic board, we aren't even sure who is in charge of markets. Either way, we don't want to wait till the elections," said Ghosh. "We shall meet the MLA Sharadwat Mukherjee and seek his help."