Architectural design of Conference Bhavan in New Town has started.
Global Bid Document preparation of Twin Towers in New Town has started.
Architectural design of Nazrul Academy** in Salt Lake has started.
And today, Expression of Interest has been invited for a Bhagat Singh Bhavan at New Town. Here is a clipping from today's Papers:
** See today's ToI at:
So Sir....What are the things we are planning to have in Rabindra Tirtha, Bhagat Singh Bhavan and Nazrul Academy? How are we planning to make it a place of tourist attraction?
ReplyDeleteWhat I find perplexing is why Bhagat Singh Bhawan ?
ReplyDeleteRabindra Tirtha and Nazrul Academy are acceptable considering the fact that they represent Bengal's cultural heritage.
I hope someone enlightens us about the purpose of this Bhawan
In Rajarhat we are having a Rabindra Tirtha, in Salt Lake we are again having a Rabindra Bhawan. No complaints, but are we not overdoing a single maestro? We do have other visionaries too. And, rather than having separate bhawans, we could have sections within a single property. And if Bhagat Singh can demand a bhawan on 1 acre of land, then we might need loads of acres to cover other regional/national heroes. Maybe we could have dedicated the bhawan to all the freedom fighters, as the freedom fighting movement was not a one man show.
ReplyDeleteI visited Kolkata after a year long period yesterday and it was funny and painful to watch those places where money was spent on painting the guardrails, but not on removing the heap of trash lying in front of them. I am not sure if we are thinking before spending the money which is now a "crisis" for Bengal. I am not criticizing, but as a native of this state i felt bad.
Yesterday, I tried walking from Webel to Technopolis, and inspite of the newly half-built pavements i could hardly walk a stretch without coming back to the road. Either there were shops, or electric poles, or abandoned cartons, or the pavement was dug up. The bus stops were deserted and the people were all on road as usual. People were boarding vehicles all along the stretch, leading to a huge chaos, and the traffic volunteers did nothing other than waving hands which no one bothered to obey. There was no change to the place than it was 2 years back, other than few more buildings which has come up. I request you Sir to personally observe the place at some point of the rush hour.
Sir,
ReplyDeleteI really do not why....But somehow when we plan to roads....big wide pavements are not a part of the agenda? In Sector 5, pavements are really narrow. I know if we have wide pavements they can be encroached by hawkers but there the question of law enforcement comes in. We have to ensure that they cannot start encroaching, rather than allowing them to start business and then evicting them on a later date.
In entire VIP Road, there is no pavement. Can you imagine how a person feels when he enters KOlkata through VIP Road and EM Byepass. In EM Byepass also, there is very little stretch where you can get pavements. Either the pavement is not there or it is too narrow and broken. BRTS cannot be an excuse if we consider Park Circus Connector and RashBehari connectors where the pavements are in a total mess.
Some things need a discussion.
ReplyDeleteI will only make two observations now.
(1) Rome wasn't built in a day.
(2) May be what we are doing is a drop in the ocean, but without it the ocean would be a drop smaller
Truly said, and fully agreed. There is no solution that is possible to be turned around in a day, specially in Kolkata. But somehow i feel, its not time that we are pointing out here. Its more about the prioritization, planning and approach to the initiatives. Also, if the deliverable is of decent quality, then its worth to wait for an extra period of 1-2 yrs, but after waiting for a prolonged period, the outcome is not of promised standard, only then a sense of frustration grows among the well-wishers.
ReplyDeleteIn the Planning Commission meeting at Delhi on 10th April, some members posed questions like "West Bengal may increase plan allocation percentage to Agriculture", "You should consider more outlay in rural electrification in terms of budgetary allocation as part of GSDP", "Social Sector should be given more attention"...and so went the conversations up to a point. Thing is, the Plan Allocation was Rs 25,600 crores (16% above last year) but questions always can be asked as to whether things can be priotised differently. Indeed, no two opinions of any two experts may be the same. So the government takes a decision through a democratically elected government.
ReplyDeleteJust to set the record about prioritisation right, I list below the set of Urban Infrastructure Projects that were completed last FY:
10 MGD Water Supply Project at Uluberia, Water Supply Project for Naihati/ Halisahar/ Kanchrapara/ Gayeshpur/ Kalyani, Drainage Scheme for Khardah/ Panihati/ North Dum Dum/ South Dum Dum, Storm Water Drainage in Chinsurah/ Bansberia, Sewerage System in Sector V Salt Lake. Value of works done under Urban Infrastructure (completed + ongoing) Rs. 722 crores in FY 2011-12.
New UIG Projects sanctioned in 2011-12 were 13. Some examples:
Elevated road in Budge Budge, Bus Terminus in Nabadigata (Salt Lake Sec V), 4 lane fly-over on EMBy Pass near Kamalgazi, Road improvement in Durgapur / Asansol, other water supply and drainage projects.
The budget allocation for plan schemes for Urban Development Department is Rs 1,233 crores. Subdivisions and projects are very carefully calibrated. Sure, there can be alternatives. But let us also appreciate the complexity of governance issues.
The new NKDA Website is definitely a great improvement from the previous one. Kudos to you Mr. Sen for the implementation. I am also told that there is a toll free number and e-mail addresses to address individual grievances. Usually these steps lead to greater transparency of functioning. Obviously these measures have to be embraced by your employees to make it successful. You could also think of setting up a small helpdesk type unit to look after these issues.
ReplyDelete