Does the idea of organising a massive procession to promote less congested and cleaner roads strike you as slightly incongruous? Certainly not, if you are West Bengal state transport minister Subhas Chakraborti.
For good measure, the minister has also roped in popular actor Mithun Chakraborty to lend some star power to the state governments drive for a cleaner Calcutta.
The minister told the Calcutta Chamber of Commerce on Saturday that Chakraborty would be the main attraction of a mega procession, to be organised sometime in April, which will emphasise the need to `love Calcutta, clean Calcutta. The cine star will address adoring fans, who will presumably flock to see him, at various road junctions throughout the day.
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The minister estimated that Calcutta loses approximately Rs 1,000 crore every year through loss of man-days, which could be reduced by improving the speed of traffic and quality of life in the city.
Criticising Calcuttans for being quick to assert their rights as citizens, but displaying utter callousness about their civic responsibility, Chakraborti called upon them to demonstrate their celebrated affection for the city through practical measures to enhance its welfare.
The minister attributed Calcuttas decline to the precipitate influx of refugees after partition, without a matching improvement of the civic infrastructure. He added that about four million people invade the city every working day. Most of them come from outside, use the citys facilities and go away at the end of the day without paying for anything, he lamented.
Chakrabarti pointed out that Calcutta was overburdened as it was the only important city in the state. However, the obvious solution of developing other important centres appeared to have eluded him.
Nevertheless, the minister claimed success for the Calcutta Corporations massive garbage cleaning drive. Only the drainage system now needs to be revamped to save Calcutta from water-logging, he added.
Interestingly, Chakrabarti was in a rather confrontational mood as he lambasted various sections, including some of his own partymen who have criticised his actions. The minister alleged that his critics judgement was clouded by personal bias.
The minister then turned on the judiciary and medical experts over the recent order restricting the permissible noise level within 65 decibels. Who has determined the 65 decibels limit?, he demanded. I have made enquiries if people living near the noisy areas have actually turned deaf. Nobody has lost his listening faculty. People slowly get immune to higher level of noise, he added.
Apparently, medical warnings about sound pollution are just so much hot air as far as the minister is concerned.
Chakrabarti also opposed the judiciarys move to forcibly reduce smoke pollution from vehicles as things cannot be changed overnight by fiats from court. Clearly, the minister has opted for a strategy of persuasion, rather than coercion, to coax Calcuttas citizens to clean up their act. But he could be forced to sweep his plan under the carpet if the proposed mega procession next month turns out be a damp squib.