For once, the feisty transport minister of Bengal is dot on target. He says the city doesn’t have space to park all its cars. What he omits to say is that the city has not expanded in commensurate with surge in vehicular and human population, and that this happened because of flawed policies of his government in the past.
Just as improvement takes time, deterioration also needs its share of time to be felt. And therein lies the danger. Once you are immune to the decay around, you start feeling as if it has been the same all the time. That however is not true. Kolkata of yesteryears was a majestic city, and people used to throng to it to immerse in its charm and beauty. The urban jungle that Kolkata today is has much to do with lack of imagination and utter incapability on the part of latter-day rulers.
Their inability to see beyond the tip of nose has now alarmingly seeped and spread among masses. Look at New Market’s traders’ ridiculous demand to let cars park on the street so that their business is not marred. They are oblivious that the underground car parking plaza is meant to avoid car parking on the street, thereby giving a facelift to the historic place. They are afraid that the underground shops will take all their business.
It is unlikely that New Market traders will succeed in their demand. Or who knows, they may get what they want. Which means that the authorities will once again succumb to whims and fancies of whoever launches protests, howsoever impractical.
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