Sir — Ganesha is slowly, but surely, edging out Vishwakarma in Calcutta. Unfortunately, mortals are paying a heavy price on account of this battle among the gods. This year, both pujas were celebrated noisily with the devotees placing giant speakers inside pandals. Whoever won the decibel war, evidently, would emerge as the winner of this divine contest. The fury of sound is no longer limited to Kali Puja and Diwali. Crackers and the speakers are making their presence felt in festivities that were once sedate affairs. Interventions by the law have fallen on deaf ears.
Kartik Basu,
Calcutta
Chaotic mess
Sir — It has become extremely difficult for commuters to reach their workplace, schools or colleges since the collapse of the Majerhat bridge (“Stuck on road for hours”, Sept 6).
Uncertainty over when the bridge will be reconstructed has increased the chaos among those who used to avail of this stretch of road. Buses along this route have become erratic and the many autorickshaws that ply in this area have further aggravated the problem. One wonders whether the government has a plan to alleviate citizens’ troubles.
Ankita Bakshi,
Calcutta
Sir — The Majerhat bridge was known for supporting a high density of traffic. Its collapse has led to tremendous traffic congestion. A primary link on Diamond Harbour Road that connected South 24 Parganas to the rest of the city has been severed. This has pushed people to adjoining roads that are not broad enough to allow the free flow of traffic. Normalcy is slowly returning; the pace, though, is unsatisfactory. Still, the Calcutta Police should be thanked for the efficiency that they have shown since the collapse.
The imminent festive season will make the situation in the area worse. Traffic congestion, though, has always been a problem during Durga Puja. How is it that Puja committees are granted permission to build pandals on arterial roads and thoroughfares? Sadly, no political dispensation has ever tried to address this problem. At least for this year, the state government could have directed the Puja organizers around Majerhat to not block thoroughfares with pandals. This could have helped in reducing traffic snarls to a certain extent.
A.K. Mitra,
Calcutta
Sir — Although the collapse of the Majerhat bridge was cause for concern in itself, the after-effects of the mishap are proving as worrying. This bridge was the main link between the city and its southern fringes. The inconveniences that commuters will now have to face will be tortuous.
There is no denying that reconstruction of the bridge cannot happen overnight, but one hopes that the government will not sit on this project as is its wont. Getting the bridge up and running in record time will, to an extent, help restore the pride of Calcutta by proving that the city is successful in overcoming such calamities.
Sandip K. Pitty,
Calcutta
Sir — The Majerhat incident exposed how poor maintenance of infrastructure can lead to serious disasters. Reportedly, repair of the bridge was long overdue. Even though the public works department floated a tender inviting bids from companies to repair the bridge, they clearly failed to understand the urgency of the situation. It does not seem that they put enough pressure on the government to clear various hurdles and provide the requisite funds. The collapse has revealed bureaucratic irresponsibility and those accountable should be brought to book.
It is reported that several bridges in West Bengal are in dire need of repair. The state government should take immediate action to ensure that disasters like the one in Majerhat do not recur.
Srikanta Bhattacharjee,
Calcutta
Glorious game
Sir — It is heartening that Mohun Bagan won the Calcutta Football League title after eight years (“Bagan have the bragging rights after 8 long years”, Sept 13). They managed to win because instead of depending on certain key players, Mohun Bagan played like a team under the guidance of their coach, Shankarlal Chakraborty. The victory was a pre-Puja gift for their supporters.
Sourish Misra,
Calcutta
Sir — The recent failure of East Bengal to win the CFL shows a lack of professionalism on the part of the club management. The club decided to go corporate, signed high-profile foreign players and also appointed a new coach. Thousands
have been spent on all this. Instead of investing heavily on foreign resources, the need of the hour is to nurture home-grown talent. A lot of young footballers in the country have the talent to make it big at the club level. They need to be given a chance
The glory days of football in the city are unfortunately a thing of the past. The performance of both the city clubs in the I-League recently has been below par. Club officials need to think seriously about the way forward. There is no point in spending heavily on substandard foreign players who will only play for a season or two. This makes it difficult for coaches to develop a core team.
Sudipta Sur,
Calcutta