Parking spaces make way for illegal offices

Over the past few years, Calcutta Municipal Corporation has been sanctioning parking spaces on the premises of a number of new multi-storeyed buildings in office areas of the city. The main objective is to curb illegal parking on the busy thoroughfares. However, some of the developers/promoters have subsequently bribed officials to convert these parking spaces into showrooms or offices. Some such illegal offices/showrooms are located on Park Street, Sarat Bose Road, Shakespeare Sarani and Hungerford Street. The mayor should order an inquiry into such cases and see to it that the areas are vacated and reconverted into parking spaces.

P.K. Banerjee,
Suren Roy Road.

Noise bothers neighbours

Blaring loudspeakers are a regular nuisance in Mukundapur. It is understood that organisations in residential areas also have the freedom to hold religious programmes, but they should keep in mind the welfare of the people in the neighbourhood. Some residents of this area seem devoid of this basic concern for others. They often organise big gatherings and play devotional songs on loudspeakers. Festivals like Pujas and Poila Baisakh are occasions when everybody enjoys music over loudspeakers. But this shouldn?t become a year-round affair. While the students in the area are unable to concentrate in their studies, patients in a hospital nearby are terrified of the noise. I request the local administration and police to look into this matter immediately. The organisers of such programmes should not be granted permission to use loudspeakers during every function.

Sukumar Ghosh,
Mukundapur.