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| Gone with the green: A view of a city cemetery. Picture by Biswarup Dutta |
Apropos the letters on harassment of a schoolgirl in a private bus (June 13), copassengers not protesting against misconduct by drivers and conductors is common. Autorickshaw drivers emboldened by political backing of unions are worse in this respect and often harass passengers. Nobody protests, only to avoid complications.
Twenty years ago, I had seen a gentleman aged about 60 protesting against harassment of a schoolgirl by two boys in a private bus. The other passengers, including me, were silent. The boys stopped the bus on Beleghata Road and attempted to drag the gentleman off the bus to teach him a lesson. When locals intervened, the boys escaped. I still feel ashamed when I think of the incident.
S.N. Chatterjee, the first Indian police commissioner of the city, had ordered suspension of licences for road offences in 1948. Seventeen licences were suspended in a month and rule violations dropped. Now, action is frowned on and indifference appreciated.
Nishith Mitra,
Mahinagore
Apropos the report “Gandhi prod paves way for grave upkeep”, June 12, in others parts of the country and in many other countries, cemeteries are lovingly maintained and look like parks. The two cemeteries the report dwelt on, Lower Circular Road and Scottish Church, are in congested parts of the city and are surrounded by shanties. The cemeteries, shaded by trees and with wide open spaces, can be day-time oases for the neighbourhoods.
The last thing that the cemeteries need is high boundary walls. Nothing is more welcome to those who misuse the grounds at night. They will find a way in and no one can see their drinking and debauchery because of the walls. Furthermore, the walls would all too soon be painted with slogans and plastered with posters. Let’s have low walls so we can refresh our city-sore eyes with the greenery and adequate lighting at night.
Mary Ann Dasgupta,
Jadavpur
Apropos the report “Cemeteries are now crime dens”, June 13, it is most unfortunate that the city cemeteries have turned to happy hunting ground for criminals. The picture published with the report clearly shows that the cemeteries need immediate attention and care. It is good that the governor has taken an initiative.
Sourish Misra,
Salt Lake
Gopalkrishna Gandhi’s attempt to ensure upkeep of the cemeteries is meaningful. The lackadaisical attitude of the authorities must be condemned.
Sunil Banerjee,
VIP Road
It is alarming that 14 surgeries had to be carried out at Sambhu Nath Pandit Hospital under emergency lights (Babudom in dark at noon, June 16). The lives of patients undergoing surgery are always at risk. Also, if there is shortage of power, preference should be given to hospitals over Writers’ Buildings.
Dinabandhu Mukherjee,
Behala
Apropos the report “Citizens powerless in their misery,” June 7, it has become necessary to highlight CESC’s poor emergency service. Power supply to a phase in our housing estate went off at dawn recently. Since 8am, I called up the CESC call centre six times (docket nos. 12972, 13179, 13379, 13393 …), but no one turned up. Around 10.30pm, we contacted the district engineer of CESC (south) through the power minister’s brother who resides in our complex. Power was restored within half an hour. We learnt from the Jadavpur CESC office that the call centre had alerted them only at 6.37pm.
R.N. Ghosh,
Calcutta Greens
Common plight
Apropos the report “Buddha car halts in its flooded tracks” June 14, thousands of us suffer the same way every day on the Dum Dum station subway. It resembles a water park. And there’s no way you can hurry through the stretch with scores walking in two lines on a 2.5 feet wide fenced-off path.
Amlan Kusum Chakraborty,
Dum Dum Road
Apropos the report “Bravo, Braveheart”, June 12, what teenager Debasish Saha did in real life should not be compared with what Shah Rukh Khan fakes on the screen. The comparison is an insult to what he has done.
A. Roy Mukherjee,
PK Guha Road
In “Freedom fighter forgotten” (June 15), Jatindranath Das’s nephew Milan Das says “All that our uncle has got is a Metro Railway station named after him.” But the department of posts had issued a 30-paisa stamp on his 50th death anniversary on 13.9.1979.
Diptimoy Ghosh,
Salt Lake
Apropos the report “Grooming for globetrotters”, July 3, SinGem was formed in 1997 by our chairman Puneet Srimal. Richa Daga joined the board of directors in 2003. She is currently managing two franchisees of Sin Gem at Salt Lake and Howrah.
A SinGem spokesperson
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