The City Diary
Burglars arrested
Six men were arrested on Friday for two robberies at Mathpara in Khardah last Sunday. Four of the arrested were picked up from near Sodepur and the rest from Barrackpore. A gold chain, six silver utensils and Rs 12,500, a part of the Rs 80,000 booty the gang had taken from the homes of two traders, were recovered. A 9mm pistol and some ammunition were also found on them.
AMRI bail
The bail petition of Satyabrata Upadhyay, senior vice-president (projects) and head of the safety committee of AMRI Hospitals, Dhakuria, could not be heard on Friday at a district and sessions court in Alipore as defence counsel Milan Mukherjee was out of station. Judge Anindya Bhattacharjee has fixed March 16 as the next date of hearing .
Civic budget
Mayor Sovan Chatterjee will place the Trinamul Congress-run civic board’s third budget on Saturday. The focus, civic officials said, will be on the beautification of the city.
Accident
A school bus ran over a pedestrian on AJC Bose Road around 1.30pm on Friday. The injured, Sahabuddin, 50, was taken to SSKM Hospital in an unconscious state.
KMC asked for night shelter list: City police
KOLKATA: The police letter suggesting that a few Kolkata Municipal Corporation schools, health clinics, community halls and other vacant government land be used as night shelters came after KMC requested the police to help them identify such places to provide vagabonds a safe night stay in keeping with apex court guidelines. This list was prepared in consultation with the local councillors and the KMC borough office-bearers. A separate order was issued on Friday to the police station’s OCs to understand whether KMC officials have any objection to any place suggested in the list.
TOI had reported on the list sent by the commissioner of Kolkata Police to mayor Sovan Chatterjee. It was also reported that KMC’s member mayor-in-council Atin Ghosh had termed the use of health clinics and schools run by KMC as “absurd”.
Reacting to the TOI report, joint commissioner of police (crime) Damayanti Sen said: “Police have no locus standi on the matter. We were asked by the KMC to help them prepare a list of possible places which can be used as night shelters. Accordingly, the divisional DCPs were asked to prepare the list with due consultation with the local KMC office bearers and councillors. The implementing authority is the KMC and the social welfare department. Whether any of these places will ultimately be used for night shelters rests on them. Should they seek our help regarding this, it is our duty to assist them. But we can’t decide on it ourselves.”
On Friday, a fresh order was issued to the respective OCs to go back to the KMC office bearers and understand whether they have any objection to the places mentioned in the list and should they have, it would be further intimated to the KMC. Core to the issue is to identify places where vagabonds can be provided a safe night refuge from 9 pm to 6 am. “The objective was to identify government properties which are not put to use during the night and are well capacitated to accommodate people. Inputs were taken from people who are in charge of these or are in the know,” a senior officer said.
The Kolkata Police already runs several social welfare programmes – one even recognised by the Unicef. The Nabadisha programme now runs across 31 police stations, where street children are educated in police stations. Several NGOs partner Kolkata Police in this effort. The training schedules are during the afternoon and even night, to allow children – in cases even their parents – to be taught.
The other programme which is now gaining applause is Kiran, an effort to train women so that they can sustain on their own. Five Kiran centres are already in operation. These are primarily located in minority areas where women’s going out on work is still considered a taboo.
In addition to their programmes for the elderly, Pronam, the Kolkata Police also run a unique programme with schoolchildren who go on a monthly visit to police stations. The children are taught how police work, how they can make a difference and bring police more closely to them. The Kolkata Police’s social welfare programme is looked after by an additional commissioner of police and runs from the Alipore Bodyguard Lines under an OC, community policing.
In fact, chief minister Mamata Banerjee is tentatively slated to inaugurate one such programme on February 18.
Stumbling Block Across City
KOLKATA: If you are among the millions who walk to work in Kolkata, you would be cursing mayor Sovan Chatterjee’s pavement beautification drive for your sprained ankles, scraped knees and the messed up city. In spite of the crores spent on the project, Kolkata looks like a city in ruins, south to north.
It’s painfully clear that Kolkata Municipal Corporation’s much hyped pretty pavement programme has backfired. The mayor had announced a month ago that the civic body would spend crores to beautify the footpaths along some of the major thoroughfares. In reality, pavements have been dug across the city, especially in prime locations of central Kolkata, and left that way, causing much hardship to pedestrians.
KMC has spent more than Rs100 crore on pavement beautification across the city in the past six years, but you wouldn’t believe it if you were stumbling from one pile of debris to another.
Pedestrians allege that accidents have been occurring frequently in the past fortnight due to the dug-up pavements. Keya Biswas, an employee of a multi-national, narrowly escaped being run over a few days ago on Shakespeare Sarani, one of the prime locations of the city. The pavement in front of her office has been dug up and left that way for the past 10 days, forcing her and other pedestrians to the road. “I had almost reached my office when I was hit by a taxi. I somehow escaped with my life but it could have been fatal. I wouldn’t have been in that situation if the pavement had not been dug up,” she said.
Santanu Ghosh, an employee of a central government organization, is frustrated with the way he has to stumble about the pavement to reach his office on Jawaharlal Nehru Road. For over a fortnight, the footpaths in this posh area have been dug up and the debris dumped all over the place. “When will this torture end? Every now and then, the KMC has been digging up the pavement only to relay it and dig it up again. I fail to understand what is the purpose of such a beautification? We face regular troubles when walking on pavements. Besides, it is a sheer waste of public money,” Ghosh said.
Large chunks of pavements along other major thoroughfares such as AJC Bose Road, Bowbazar Street, and SN Banerjee Road are also in a terrible shape. A pedestrian was heard remarking on SN Banerjee Road that it could be used for hiking and mountaineering lessons. The entire pavement is missing in parts of this key road that leads to Sealdah. The tiles have been left scattered here and there, forcing people to do a balancing act every few metres.
Sheikh Munna, a hawker who sells leather ware at the intersection of JL Nehru Road and SN Banerjee Road, said that he has seen a number of mishaps because of the dug-up pavement. Rumita De, who comes to Chowringhee feels that pavements in city’s central business district were going from bad to worse.
“I don’t need a beautification of a pavement if it remains dug up for the better part of the year. It is definitely wasteful expenditure,” De said. “Give us a flat surface to walk on. We don’t want pretty tiles,” fumed a businessman on the way to his shop.
On Cathedral Road, a notice board proudly announces ‘Landscaping and beautification work under KMC’. Right below it is a huge mound of mud and debris. Some parts on Shakespeare Sarani are simply impassable.
Faiyaz Khan, the former mayor-in-council member (roads), felt that it was a weak supervision on the part of the civic officials tat led to “utter failure of the pavement beautification programe”. “Merely spending crores of money on beautification will not solve the problems. We need to prioritize pavements that need to be upgraded so that we can concentrate on strengthening the weaker pavements. But, if funds are spent on beautifying the same pavements repeatedly, it is of no use,” Khan said.
Though more than a 100 crore has already been spent on pavement beautification, the KMC authorities have decided to undertake another such drive across the city. Mayor Sovan Chatterjee has asked the civic officials to beautify pavements on CIT Road (Phoolbagan), Beliaghata Main Road, Syed Amir Ali Avenue, Lenin Sarani, SN Banerjee Road and Cathedral Road among a host of other major thoroughfares. “We have to spend Rs 10 crore in the next month to undertake such a pavement beautification drive in the designated spots. We have been asked to wind up the work by February-end,” said a KMC official.
Mayor Sovan Chatterjee, however, felt that the dug-up pavements were a “temporary problem” and that the civic body would take care of each and every pavement in the city. “We need some more time for the beautification project to be complete. I have asked civic officials to work in a time-bound manner. Once it is over, this beautification programme will add glory to the city,” Chatterjee said.
Sarobar run for a cause
KOLKATA: It was a run for a cause. Hundreds of people, from schoolchildren to the elderly, participated in the event called ‘Run for Change’ organised by the Kolkata Improvement Trust (KIT) in association with the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) at Rabindra Sarobar on Sunday. The event was organised both as part of KIT’s centenary celebrations as well as to create awareness to save and protect Rabindra Sarobar that is considered one of the lungs of the city.
People cutting across the society – from ministers and bureaucrats to sportspersons and film actors – all came along on a sunny Sunday morning to celebrate the occasion. State urban development minister Firhad Hakim, mayor Sovan Chatterjee, city police commissioner R K Pachnanda, actor Rituparna Sengupta, industrialist Harsh Neotia, former Miss Earth Nicole Faria, renowned hockey player Gurbax Singh, athlete Rita Sen, KMDA CEO Vivek Bharadwaj, urban development secretary Debashis Sen and several others were present at the event to flag off the run and cheer for the participants. Students from several city-based schools like Loreto House, Lakshmipat Singhania Academy, Garden High, Saint James and Ashok Hall participated in the event along with different institutions and NGOs.
Minister Firhad Hakim and mayor Sovan Chatterjee also joined in the run and ran a few meters with the participants. “Run for Change is a cause to save and protect Rabindra Sarobar. We are all here together today with this common cause. We want to protest and raise our voice together to see that the nature, environment and water is protected and the greenery increased in this sarobar,” said minister Firhad Hakim.
The event started off from the Sarobar stadium. The main event had two segments – a 4-km run within the Sarobar premises participated by schoolchildren and the elderly and a 10-km run participated by professional runners and others that moved down Deshapran Sashmal Road, Prince Anwar Shah Road and Gariahat Road before heading back for the Sarobar stadium. There was also a 100-m run by a group of physically challenged children, which brought tremendous applause from the audience.
Bangla band Bhumi performed at the event, singing their popular numbers to much cheer and applause. Uttam Das mesmerised the crowd by his open-hand jugglery with a football. The event ended with an award-giving ceremony.
The KMDA and KIT are jointly working on beautification and upgrade plans to develop Rabindra Sarobar. Police commissioner R K Pachnanda said security arrangements were being tightened at Rabindra Sarobar. “Police patrolling is going on in the Sarobar,” he said. As part of the beautification programme, new saplings and trees have been planted and the entire place is being cleaned up. The Sarobar stadium has also got an uplift. The KIT has recently appointed a new security service, too. A dog squad has been appointed for night vigil.
Vox Pop
Rituparna Sengupta
film actor
“This is a splendid initiative to save the environment of Rabindra Sarobar and I am very happy to be a part of this initiative. Lets come together and build up a beautiful Rabindra Sarobar”
Nicole Faria
Miss Earth, 2010
“Run for Change is a great initiative. Its all about sticking together to save and protect the environment of the sarobar,”
Harsh Neotia
Industrialist
“Run for Change was a great initiative to create awareness and consciousness amongst the people to help the city to keep clean and green,”
Sovan Chatterjee
Mayor and KMDA vice chairman
“We want to save and protect Rabindra sarobar and to keep it green and clean. This Sarobar run is a cause to join together for this effort,”
Firhad Hakim
state urban development minister
“This Run for Change is a cause to come together to save the water and the environment of Rabindra Sarobar and to increase its greenary,”
Vivek Bharadwaj
CEO, KMDA
“We want good people to come to Rabindra Sarobar. This Run for Change is an intiative towards this. We have already taken various works to develop the sarobar stadium and its surrounding,”
Busy mayor ‘unburdened’ – CM shifts portfolio load
Mamata Banerjee has relieved mayor Sovan Chatterjee of the responsibility of tax assessment and collection along with two other departments after he admitted to being unable to do justice to these key aspects of civic administration because of “work overload”.
“Didi (Mamata) has done me a favour by relieving me of certain responsibilities. I was overburdened,” Sovan told Metro.
The mayoral council member for solid waste management, Debabrata Majumdar, gets additional charge of tax assessment and collection. Atin Ghosh, who is in charge of health, will now oversee slum development as well, while the mayoral council member for parks and gardens, Debasish Kumar, has been given charge of corporation markets.
All these departments have failed to meet targets in the 77 weeks that Sovan has been the civic helmsman so far. Civic body officials say average revenue collection is still 70 per cent and little has been done to bring unassessed buildings under the tax net.
The property mutation process is also trapped in the culture of inspector raj. Almost everyone with a pending mutation application in the CMC headquarters has a corruption tale to tell.
Mamata’s choice of the new tax assessment head is a chartered accountant by training who promises to simplify the mutation process. “My target is single-day mutation for anyone who comes to us with all the required documents,” Majumdar said.
Sovan is the first mayor since 1985 not to be in charge of tax assessment and collection, though he retains the pet portfolio — water supply — that gave him his unofficial moniker “Jol”.
Amid murmurs within Trinamul that Sovan was facing the music for political reasons, Sovan spent the better part of Tuesday afternoon de-stressing himself with a dose of classical music at a soiree.
A Trinamul functionary said the changes at the civic body’s headquarters were Mamata’s way of achieving two objectives with one move. “Sovan is our South 24-Parganas district president and we would need him to play a big role in party affairs ahead of the panchayat elections next year. Besides, he was wearing too many hats and the multiple responsibilities were telling on his performance,” he explained.
Officials of the CMC said scheduling a meeting with the mayor for decisions on projects had itself become difficult because of his busy itinerary, including being by Mamata’s side at everything from the Calcutta Book Fair to a special film show with the city’s culturatti for company.
“Slum development in a city with 4,500 registered shanty colonies and 3,000 unregistered ones is still non-existent. Markets owned by the CMC have not been renovated or upgraded for years, while some incomplete projects are hardly moving. We are hoping the portfolio changes made by Mamata will be for the better,” an official said.
The last time a similar reshuffle had taken place in the CMC under Trinamul was in 2003, when Subrata Mukherjee was the mayor.
Rs 20-crore plan for city facelift
The Calcutta Municipal Corporation on Wednesday announced a Rs 20-crore beautification package for roads, parks and squares.
Civic departments such as the civil engineering, parks and squares and lighting have been given a March 31 deadline to complete the cosmetic changes.
As part of the drive, the walls of all parks will be painted blue and white. The iron railings will get a fresh coat of green paint.
“The colour scheme has been chosen by the chief minister,” said mayor Sovan Chatterjee. “Broken pavements will be repaired and important city roads will get decorative lamp posts and lights,” he added.
Some CMC engineers, however, felt no major beautification work could be carried out with this “meagre amount”.
According to official estimates, over 175 parks in the city need immediate repair of their fencing. Over 43km of main roads need dividers.
An officer in the civic lights department said hardly 200 new lamp posts with fittings could be procured with the funds that the lighting department would receive.
“I would have been happy if I could allot more funds but most of the funds this year are being spent to pay last year’s dues of contractors,” said the mayor.
