HIGH ON VICTORIA: The monument remains one of Calcutta’s favourite getaways

The report ‘Ahead twirl time again atop Victoria Memorial!’, May 20, brought back some personal memories. The job was initially awarded to Jessop & Co as early as 1984. A reward of Rs 10,000 was announced by the trustees. Several organisations at home and abroad responded and offered their services. An interesting letter came from a British engineer, informing how the angel was designed by Linsday Clarke, cast in bronze by George Mancini, and shipped to India in 1920.

Jessop chairman S.R. Chowdhury deputed design engineers, who, on submitting their report, finally entrusted my division with the job. Work commenced in 1985 and was completed on the third day. We devoted a total of 15 hours of work, the alignment was corrected and permanently locked, and a mechanical device anchored to the main shaft for rotating the angel manually. At the following press conference, it was announced that Jessop had gifted the labour to the Memorial authorities and to Calcutta.

After retiring in February 1988, I formed my own firm and submitted an offer to Victoria Memorial for periodical maintenance of the angel. The authorities replied that they would carry out the maintenance under the guidance of Madhusudan Bhattacharjee. I had trained their caretaker in maintaining the mechanism. The angel was, to my knowledge, operative till 1995, after which I understand that it became static once again, because of maintenance lapses alone.

Unless periodical maintenance is carried out, particularly after the monsoons, this problem will persist. I am looking forward to the good news that Jessop, which once again has changed hands with the majority of staff and workmen having left, is successful in its mission.

S. J. Robertson,
Elliot Road

The medieval medical customs that are still being widely practised by medicos underscore the pitiable state of healthcare in West Bengal (Merchants of pain, not relief, July 7). Ironically, this furore started only after the savage beating of a pregnant woman by her physician in an attempt to induce labour. Considering the list of brutal medical practices in the report, this seems to be a routine affair. Treating a patient with “vocal anaesthesia” (use of verbal admonition for lack of proper anaesthetic agent) or “tied-up treatment” (tying up a non-psychiatric patient in agony for shortage of people to attend) would be unimaginable in the medical parlance of any civilised country. There can be no dispute that such deliberate and cruel treatment of a patient clearly violates medical as well as ethical boundaries set forth for practicing physicians and thus, any doctor involved in such merciless therapies of a patient should be disciplined.

Dr Kunal Saha ,
Ohio, USA

It was shocking to read how a host of medieval customs is practised today in government-run hospitals. Can’t we expect doctors to be a little more compassionate towards patients? Moreover, it is sad that doctors discriminate on the basis of the economic status of patients and as the ones who are admitted in these hospitals are from the economically challenged sections, they get away with such boorish behaviour. Brutal acts used for “curing” a patient only remind us of a savage, uncivilised society, where modern facilities are yet to reach.

Rimli Datta,
Salt Lake

It is terrible how a pregnant woman was slapped to induce labour in a city hospital. These barbaric practices belong to medieval times and not the 21st century when medical science has made such rapid progress.

A.F. Kamruddin Ahmed,
Bandpur

Apropos the report ‘Punishment chores against slap doctors’, July 9, it is reassuring to note that agitation against the doctor who slapped a patient in the labour room is gathering momentum. The profession of a doctor demands care of those in distress. It is astonishing how a doctor could rebuke a helpless patient, which might increase his/her mental agony.

Piyal Mukherjee.
Lake Town

The prompt action taken by the station manager of Bolpur and the ticket examiner of Saraighat Express on July 4 to save a six-month-old baby in the train, who developed symptoms of acute gastroenteritis, is praiseworthy (The City Diary, July 6). The railway officers concerned, including the divisional medical officer, Eastern Railway, who attended to the baby, must be complimented for their humanitarian action.

Dinabandhu Mukherjee,
Behala

The step being taken by the Calcutta Municipal Corporation in association with ADB and TERI (Amenity boost to life in the alleys, July 8) for the uplift of the people of Pearabagan slum is commendable. In a city like Calcutta, slum-dwellers can never be neglected. We can hope that Calcutta will be more beautiful because such development of the slums will lead to the overall progress of the city.

Prasit Sen,
Hatiara

Apropos your report ‘Constable held for dowry torture’, July 7, inspite of the Anti-dowry Act passed in 1985, cases of torture and crime against women continue to take place all over the country. Individual awareness is the only key to solving this problem.

Anil Kumar Sen,
Ram Chandra Chatterjee Lane

Apropos the report ‘Three-year-old survives fall from fourth floor’, July 8, the doctors of Apollo Gleneagles Hospital deserve special praise for saving the life of a child, who fell from a fourth-floor balcony while trying to wave at his friends playing in the courtyard below. The prompt action of the doctors, who worked as a team, applying their medical expertise, undoubtedly depicts a rare endeavour and humane spirit that merit accolades.

Sunil Banerjee,
VIP Road

In the report ‘Striking roots, forging ahead’, August 2, on the Anglo-Indian Day celebrations, the Rangers Club was mistakenly referred to as the Rifle Club.

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