HISTORY OF THE MOVEMENT: HOW DID IT ALL BEGIN?

In the early days of 2002, complete anarchy prevailed. The stench of death hung heavy in the air. Our eyes burned from diesel fumes. Twenty four hours a day, monstrous trucks and buses revved in and out of the area. We coughed, gasped, choked and made futile attempts to block the deafening noise. Sleep was impossible. For the sick, the old and asthmatic, the only hope was perhaps an early demise. Animal parts rotted in open vats. Dark, wet trails of urine snaked across the main road. Enteritis was rampant as flies buzzed around our dinner plates. Piles of sand and stone chips dumped on the road forced us to make suicidal dashes through heavy traffic. Accidents were common. Thankfully, there were no fatalities. But our belief in a functioning administration, the citizen's right to live with dignity, and fairness of municipal laws was dying everyday.

In this predominantly residential locality which was choc-a-bloc full of apartment buildings, 'dadagiri' reigned supreme. These musclemen were not residents of the locality, did not pay municipal taxes from here (if at all), and cared nothing about its welfare. They came here like vultures to pick the bones of a decaying neighborhood. They tried to set up chains of stalls along both sides of the road, including open-air abattoirs! Yes, one fine morning we woke up and discovered goat carcasses strung on the side of the road! They set up stalls selling adulterated petrol; one spark could have set ablaze an entire row of 15 - 20 trucks, spreading to the neighboring buildings. Setting up stalls was not only economically profitable for the musclemen; it helped expand their 'power' and influence. Meanwhile, the pond was being filled up little by little. Fights for territorial right often broke out between the truckers and the musclemen. Thefts, peddling of ganja were on the rise. Of course, under threat of dire consequences, we the tax-paying residents had no say over any of this.

The fight back of the residents began on the evening of 14th Feb, 2002. A small group of us resisted a bid to set up a new tea stall, and the owner immediately ran to his mentor, one of the goons He was already making money out of dumping stone chips at our doorstep. "Mentorship" probably added to his purse. A show-down followed. He assembled his cronies and raved and ranted about the right of the individual to earn a living. We did not ask him if exploitation, extortion and illegal encroachment are part of such rights, but merely stood firm on our demand that this is a residential area, not supposed to be turned into a fish market. A volley of abuses and threats to burn this and burn that followed before the gang finally retreated. We made a decision then and there - "to hell with our wonderful isolation and love for privacy, people of the locality must unite, or perish."

Hand- written leaflets were distributed. As we moved from one house to another, first in twos then in threes and fours, people simply poured onto the streets seething with long suppressed anger. A community of hundred odd families suddenly realized how badly we needed each other.

The First Meeting was held in the shade of one of the apartment buildings on 24th Feb 2002. A committee was formed consisting of local residents. Since the main issues were Pollution and Security, the words parivesh and suraksha were incorporated in its name.

The Parivesh Suraksha Committee was born (Name later changed to Jadavpur Central Road Parivesh Samiti during registration under West Bengal Societies Registration Act).

FOLLOW UP

Once the committee was formed, we marched in a show of our new found strength. Local councilors, the police and other public figures were invited in the frequent meetings which were organized thereafter. We stood in vigil day and night, collected hundreds of signatures from the community, petitioned the administration to remove the trucks and to take action against the illegal stalls, and fenced off the pond to prevent further encroachment. Over the years we have had mixed success.

• No new stalls were added, a few of the older ones were removed, although the more resilient ones are still there - blocking the roadside with construction material.
• Parking of trucks and buses has been largely stopped, thanks to police action and to our constant vigil, often at the risk of personal danger.
• Garbage collection has improved although it still continues to build up along the bank of the pond. This is largely due to the temporary nature of the bamboo fencing. It will probably not stop until the area has been properly developed.
• Surreptitious filling up of the pond stopped although in the south east corner of the pond, where most of the unauthorized stalls remain, certain activities continue to raise suspicion.
• The people of the community have been brought closer through a series of activities designed to raise awareness. They have become much more responsive to the threats posed by opportunistic encroachment.
• The musclemen and extortionists have retreated into the shadows, thanks to combined assurances of the municipal authorities and the police, and the unity shown by the residents. But the threat remains. To stop them from returning, the pond and its banks must be properly developed, and certain anomalies which continue to encourage these goons permanently removed (discussed on page 3 - schedule 3).
• Last and most important - following persistent lobbying efforts a grant of Rs 2 lakhs was approved for release under Bidhayak Elaka Unnayan Prakalpa (BEUP) for developing the pond. It was kindly proposed by the Hon'ble M L A, Dhakuria Assembly Constituency - for the year 2002-03, order no. 1344/MA/C 10/3S-14/2003, dated the 29th December 2004. More on this as follows.
  

The renovation work done on the pond so far: Dec 2005 - Jan 2006

We are happy that Government fund to the extent of Rupees Two Lakhs has been spent on renovating the pond. Thus, its identity as a viable water body which needs to be conserved has been established irrefutably. But the work done so far has not met with our primary objective - to make the pond look like a pond. This can only be achieved by removing the thick coat of water hyacinth and tangled grass covering its surface. The money allocated so far has only been used to fix salballah pegs along the perimeter, up to a distance of 37 m (120 ft) - Details given under proposed work plan. Thus we appeal to you, or anyone reading this booklet, if you are in a position to contribute through administrative influence, or directly through funds and the like, please do so.

Development of this area as a show-piece Green Project, which is on a main arterial road with future plans for expansion will carry the right message of hope and pride to places much beyond Dhakuria and Jadavpur.

YEAR ROUND ACTIVITIES OF THE SAMITI

Ever since we came into existence we have tried to promote greater interaction among the residents and generate awareness about environmental pollution and the threats faced by the community. We have published countless leaflets, carried out poster campaigns, and have maintained communication with the administration and public representatives. Our various activities include -

• Saraswati Puja - celebrated with community lunch
• Rabindranath Tagore's Birth Anniversary Celebration - cultural function with performances by local residents
• Independence Day Celebration - Flag hoisting followed by Residents' Meet
• Community Holi
• Community fireworks during Kalipuja
• Executive committee meetings - once a month (sometimes more)
• Regular interactions with local councilors, police station
• Leaflets, posters, booklets like this one - used for local communication
• Website - containing detailed account of our work, giving us a worldwide audience.
• Constant vigil against the many forces of darkness who are constantly on the hunt for opportunities to overwhelm us and take the community back to that nightmarish past.
  

THE FUTURE

Booklet published by public awareness wing of Jadavpur Central Road Parivesh Samiti (formerly Parivesh Suraksha Committee). Reg No. S/1L/42619 of 2006-2007.
Published on March 2007.
Website - www.geocities.com/jadavpurgreens

Read Back > Page 3

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.