Let not this post translate wrongly to anyone. Again, I am NOT at all politically biased. Let me share with you all a few thoughts. The need of the hour in Kolkata is availability of the basic amenities for people and making the life of the people of Kolkata easy and comfortable with transparency in governance. IMHO, making Kolkata another London, Darjeeling another Switzerland, is a distant reality, if not a distant dream that may not ever be fulfilled with efforts from the government that we seen till today. Even before thinking of making Kolkata another London, can the government not plan properly and make it at par with other developed cities in India? In my last visit to the city I could see that the development of roads in Kolkata has a long long way to go. Still we have many water-logged roads in the main areas of the city. The Police is not at all active in most parts of the city and they are reluctant to help the common people or even the women. The City Police at Kolkata doesnt have any respect for women. Let me give you all a few statistics that might help you to understand where we stand actually as far as the dream of making Kolkata another London is concerned. London is a global city with excellent transportation facilities. The London Underground has over 500 trains while the Kolkata Metro doesnt have even 10% of the number of underground trains the city of London has. Calcutta had 3,21,800 cars in 2007, while the number in London was over 3 million. The London Underground Rail Service begins at 5.15 AM (GMT) and the last train leaves at 00.20 AM GMT (23.30 Hours GMT on Sundays). In contrast, the Kolkata Metro Trains start at 7 AM (IST) and lasts till 10 PM (IST) and the services begin on Sundays at 2 PM (IST) only. There are 26 more universities in London compared to Kolkata. In London, public health care is much more affordable for an average citizen and is usually guaranteed for everyone. In London, there is a significantly less number of inhabitants living in slums. London is significantly much better connected globally. (Note that the Global Cities Index is 5.79 for London and just 0.63 for Kolkata). Reference: A.T. Kearney Global Cities Index, 2012 atkearney/gbpc/global-cities-index/full-report/-/asset_publisher/yAl1OgZpc1DO/content/2012-global-cities-index/10192
Posted on: Sat, 19 Oct 2013 06:59:26 +0000
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