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Sunday, February 10, 2013

Who Rules Your Sidewalk?

I belong to the group called "youth of Kolkata." It is no Union, and no political affiliation. It is just because of my age and place of residence.

What do the youth expect from the city and its government? Quite a lot perhaps.

Sharing an experience that I have had would perhaps begin the journey of stating the required change. I was in Sector 5 in Salt Lake to watch a movie today. On other days I go for work. There is something very interesting I have been observing on these streets and elsewhere in Kolkata.

Hawkers!

I would not say I am against hawkers. But when hawkers become "rulers" of the sidewalk, that makes me think about the great comparison of Kolkata and London!

There is a stretch of road from Infinity Think Tank Building to RDB Boulevard. The two sides of the road has sidewalks (footpaths). When they were newly built (I believe more than 2 years ago) I could walk on one of them comfortably. The second one had big trees in the middle of the sidewalk stretch, so it was, and still is, very difficult to walk on it. There is always a risk of bumping into a tree and very little space between the trees and the sidewalk railing to squeeze through.

Of course the new government was formed with slogans of "change." And change I did see atleast on this stretch of road. The first sidewalk (the one without trees) that I talked about has "changed." It is now absolutely, completely, undoubtedly impossible to walk along that! Why?

Hawkers!

So, if you want to walk from Infinity Think Tank Building to RDB Boulevard you must walk on the road. The road, by all rules, is supposed to be for automobiles, and the sidewalks for pedestrians. But pedestrians and automobiles have to jostle for space to pass through on the road itself, because hawkers are rulers of the sidewalk.

Sector 5 represents the Information Technology Industry. Many of the folks working here have visited Western countries, and definitely you have the people who have been to London. I am one of them. I know how London looks. And if Sector 5 is what I have just described, imagine how it is in other parts of Kolkata.

Time for further change. Visible change can begin from the streets. Do it for the people please!

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