Kolkata going green - Lal Dighi, the CBD, to be vehicle free on weekends

It has been announced by Chief minister Mamata Banerjee that the Lal Dighi or CBD of Kolkata will be declared as a vehicle free zone on weekends and dedicated to walkers. Lal Dighi is the heart of the city Kolkata and Mamata Banerjee wants people to "roam around freely, have food and enjoy cultural programs" in the area.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 26 December 2015.

Lal Dighi is surrounded by heritage structures, like Writers' Buildings, GPO and Currency Building, Fairlie Place, Dead Letters Office. Previously known as Dalhousie Square, Lal Dighi is one of the finest precincts of colonial heritage structures and is the nerve-center of city's central business district (CBD).
Incidentally, the Burdwan administration has taken the lead over Kolkata in making one day of the week vehicle-free. The CM has explained that in Lal Dighi (Dalhousie Square), offices are closed on Saturdays after 5pm and no vehicle will ply till 10pm on Sunday. She had already mooted the proposal to the Kolkata Police commissioner and mayor to implement the new rule early next year.
Around 15-20,000 vehicles from Howrah station and Burrabazar pass through Lal Dighi on Saturdays and Sundays en-route towards south and central Kolkata.

(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Laldighi in Kolkata to lose its trams and make way for East-West Metro

Sight of trams in Dalhousie Square or Lsldighi, the business district of Kolkata, would soon be a thing of the past because the work on East-West Metro's Mahakaran station in Dalhousie is expected to start in March. As a result, the Calcutta Tramways Company will stop allowing trams to make a switch-over at Laldighi to head for south or north Calcutta. This decision has been taken at a meeting held between officials of the Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation, CTC, the transport department and officers of Calcutta police.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 5 December 2015.
At present there are 25 existing tram routes and, out of these, at least 15, including Rajabazar-Dalhouise-Esplanade-Rajabazar, and Kidderpore-Dalhousie-Galiff Street, use the Laldighi loop.

A number of tram routes would be affected and the RITES representatives, present at the meeting, were asked to work out an alternative route near Lalbazar police headquarters. That way, the tram routes in the area and College Street can be left operational. A suggestion is to design a route such that trams running along Rabindra Sarani and taking a right turn towards Dalhousie can turn left towards Bowbazar and remain operational.
KMRC would take possession of the block of land opposite currency building and north of the Writers' Buildings in March 2016 and, the existing tram tracks would be removed by then.
It would take around three years to build the Mahakaran station.

Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Kolkata is dying - Lal Dighi aka BBD Bag in shambles but, Mayor does not know

Lal Dighi is an identity of Kolkata. Earlier known as Dalhousie Square, it became BBD Bag and it is situated in the posh area of the Secretariat of West Bengal, it is in shambles after the Secretariat known as Writer’s Building. It was shifted to its new location and given a new name of Nabanna. But, Mayor Sovan Chatterjee apparently does not know about this!!
Beautification of this landmark heritage had been a pet project of chief minister Mamata Banerjee – but, it is now in shambles because it has gone out of her sight. In fact, the upgrade project has fallen apart because of shoddy workmanship and poor upkeep.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 26 August 2015.

It seems contractors who were engaged by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation are flouting the basic norms that are necessary to restore a waterbody.
An example is the pathway that goes all around the square tank – its reinforcement should have been done by using logs of Shaal trees and placing them side by side along the edge of the waterbody with no gap in between. But, the contractor has used low-cost Eucalyptus logs that have begun to rot and disintegrate within six months.
Moreover, the logs have been planted one foot or more apart, instead of edge-to-edge, to use fewer logs. As a result, constant exposure to water is eroding the bank.
It had been the intention of Mamata Banerjee that the area be used by morning and evening walkers. And, for those who work in BBD Bag, it was meant to be an area for exercise and relaxation, either during lunch hours or after work hours. Unfortunately, it has become a nightmare due to lack of maintenance and so slippery that even the guards posted there have to tread gingerly.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)


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Trying to relive Kolkata – from Hatibagan to Dalhousie via Shyambazar

After my tour of Kolkata from Hatibagan to Esplanade, I decided to travel in the opposite direction – namely, from Hatibagan to Dalhousie Square via Shyambazar. Since I had spent a portion of my childhood in the Shyambazar area, this trip brought back many fond memories. Since the metro rail had not disturbed the surroundings, the locality maintained the old life charms but the cinema halls that used to once bustle with activities were relics. The footpaths were occupied by hawkers and pedestrians had to use the roads. Moreover, the once busy Cornwallis Street had been converted to a one way street to ease the flow of traffic. Since there was no possibility of widening of the road, making it one-way was the best solution.
The tram depot was still intact and trams did ply – if only the tram routes had been kept alive, it would have been a boon to the commuters but, the trams plied only in a few selected routes.
When I came to the famous five-point crossing at Shyambazar, I looked around and saw the statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at the center of the crossing, he was on horseback.
I took a left turn to Bhupen Bose Avenue and boarded a bus that was to go to Dalhousie Square – the place where most of the offices of the government, the eastern railway and the Police Headquarters at Lalbazar were located.
It was a relatively smooth ride through Chittaranjan Avenue till the rear portion of the Medical College when the bus encountered a jam and, after waiting for a while, the bus driver decided to take a diversion that took the bus to a lane next to the gate of Lalbazar. Then it went ahead and parked in the terminus where I got down and began the long walk to Esplanade. I passed through the portals of the Great Eastern Hotel and, keeping the Governor’s House on my right, I took the turning towards K C Das – the brand famous for its Rosogollas. I did peep in but discovered that the interiors had changed completely.
Finally, I crossed over to the Metro cinema on Chowringhee Road – this cinema house was another landmark of Kolkata and it was practically in ruins. The pavement was occupied by hawkers who sold anything under the sun from foreign scents and sunglasses to foreign chocolates and wristwatches. And then there were the women who offered themselves to others to earn a living – they solicited customers openly at the bus stands through their touts.
I discovered that prosperity brings with it hordes of other associated problems that have to be accepted as a fallout of changes.