THE CHALLENGES FACED BY THE COMMUNITY: A MORE DETAILED ACCOUNT

In a fast changing urban landscape, communities of residents are feeling an urgent need to unite and to raise a common voice against decaying civic conditions. Unless we unite and protest, and make changes happen, we are bound to perish.

Satellite picture of the locality showing the pond (courtesy: Wikimapia)

Water body under threat - There has been an alarming rise in air, water, land and noise pollution. Water resources are dwindling, which also makes fire-fighting difficult, especially in the densely populated neighborhoods. And yet, illegal encroachment and unbridled construction activity is snuffing out the last traces of water bodies and greeneries.

The beautiful pond in our locality, which is a like a lungs to us, and the best source of fire-fighting water in this densely populated region, is in dire need of renovation. Its gradual decay is in complete disregard to all environmental and security wisdom. Enough water bodies have been destroyed by land sharks. It is absolutely urgent that this pond and similar ones like it be saved and renovated and if required, be used for pisciculture for long-term maintenance.

Goods Vehicles belching poison fumes - Rampant entry/parking of trucks in dense residential areas are causing an endemic of lung diseases, even affecting lung growth in kids. If we are not to consider the plight of asthmatics and senior citizens with compromised breathing, let us at least consider the future of the children. Trucks, other than those carrying building materials directly to a site of construction, MUST NOT BE allowed to enter residential areas and dump goods in front of people's homes.

Musclemen terrorizing residents - With rapid rise in building activity has risen a breed of musclemen and extortionists who are terrorizing communities of law-abiding citizens. They are choking up house fronts and footpaths with hundreds of illegal stalls and piles of construction material. This is forcing pedestrians, including school children to walk dangerously down the road. Isn't such encroachment in complete disregard to municipal laws? While residents continue to pay hundreds of thousands of rupees in municipal taxes, a double-standard is being perpetuated daily. Can the footpaths be returned to the pedestrians? Surely the price of a child's life is not less than that of a stack of bricks?

Autorickshaws and CNG - Autorickshaws must comply with environmental norms and use CNG as fuel. They must have silencers fitted to the exhaust tube. The sympathy factor of the administration and public representatives must also rest with the thousands of citizens whose lives are in grave danger, and not just with a few non-compliant autoricksha owners who seem to have scant disregard for human life. They must not be allowed to park in residential areas.

Piles of garbage on the pond banks - We suffer from diseases like dengue and enteric fever while piles of garbage continue to mount in open vats, and blocked drains teem with mosquito larvae. The illegal eateries nearby often simply dump their garbage on the streets with callous disregard for hygiene.

This is an older photograph showing piles of garbage on the pond bank, and construction material callously dumped on public thoroughfare. We have fenced off the pond with temporary bamboo fencing (which we maintain the year round). This has somewhat lessened but not altogether stopped the dumping. This filthy, dangerously unhygienic situation can only be effectively remedied if the pond and its surrounding area is made free of encroachment and properly developed by the administration.

Read ahead > Page 4 of Book 1 / Read Back > Page 2

The second booklet from Parivesh Suraksha Committee, which is now Jadavpur Central Road Parivesh Samiti following registration on 19th Feb 2007. Among other things (a brief history of the movement, ill effects of diesel and noise pollution, the need to unitedly confront widespread hooliganism) this booklet includes proposed work plan for renovation of the pond. Published in Mar 2007, this has been preceded hopefully by a Bengali version.