Bracing up for another non-compliance

Compliance with orderly living is a rarity in today’s Bengal, and the city of Kolkata is no exception.

This coming Friday, 31st July, is the last day for commercial vehicles in the city to go green. This is an order from the Calcutta High Court that seeks to save millions in the city from poisonous fumes these vehicles emit while traveling.

If that seems logical in any civilized society, hold for a moment. In Kolkata it’s just the reverse. Maybe we are not civil enough to live in what is constitutionally agreed as an environment where all human beings live with dignity and equal rights.

These pious words are however long lost in the inward-looking, labyrinthine lifestyle in Kolkata. For, what else can justify the likely agitation by most autos from August 1 to thwart implementation of HC order?

The Times Of India reports that only a few auto operators in the Kolkata Metropolitan Area (KMA) have bothered to make the green switch, never mind the Calcutta High Court order. Most of them, instead, are banking on assurances from their respective unions of starting a stir from that date.

Since when do the self-serving unions of some thousand members dictate the terms to millions of citizens for their right to healthy living? The answer is ‘long, long back’ in Kolkata.