As the New Year dawns, many Kolkatans feel they are staring at the same problems that dogged the city last year or the year before.
The Telegraph spoke to many city residents, across age groups, to draw up a possible wish list — of things that the authorities could work on to make the experience of living and working in this beloved city better.
Uncluttered footpaths
The best way to know a city is by walking, but where is that opportunity in Kolkata?
The civic body, the custodian of Kolkata’s footpaths, must act against hawkers and return the footpath to pedestrians. A Gariahat resident said the ugly and dangerous plastic sheets hanging over stalls must be removed and all hawkers should be forced to reduce the size of their stalls so that at least two-thirds width of the pavement is free for pedestrians.
There should be no hawker outside Metro stations and near important crossings.
Visitors to the Victoria Memorial and (right) to Alipore zoo on Saturday
Less noise
The noise menace needs to be chained soon.
The state pollution control board and police have to ensure that no sound emitter is used without a noise limiter. The authorities have to act against organisers of programmes that play music through the day without caring about the plight of residents.
Message to drivers: honk less and be patient.
Disabled-friendly spaces
Create slopes at the end of the footpaths so that wheelchairs can move onto the road with ease.
Boarding or getting off a bus is next to impossible for those in wheelchairs. If buses have a low pedestal or sliding footboards it will make it convenient for those on wheelchairs.
Anamika Sinha, director of Manovikas Kendra, said public transport is largely inaccessible for individuals on wheelchairs.
Several old Metro stations and even the newly created underpasses do not have ramps. They all only have stairs, making it inaccessible for those in wheelchairs, senior citizens and mothers with babies in strollers.
“The gradient of ramps should be such that it is a gradual climb because in a sharp gradient, the danger of falling is acute. Infrastructure should be designed keeping a large population in mind, including senior citizens, pregnant women and people with disabilities,” said Rina Sen, honorary secretary, Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy.
More buses
Despite promises by the government, bus services are still irregular and erratic on most routes.
Buses start drying up by 9pm and by 10pm, there are very few buses left on the road.
Many parts of Kolkata are still serviced only by private buses, whose quality needs urgent improvement. “It is a shame that in a metro city there are hardly any buses on the road at 10pm,” said a Baguiati resident.
Polite police
The police should treat their fellow citizens as equals and not as their subjects.
Police stations should be more friendly places where people are guided well. The tone with which any visitor is spoken to needs change, said several Kolkatans who have had “unhappy experiences” of talking to the police.
Billboards
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation should come out with a list of locations where billboards are allowed.
Billboards are now an eyesore. They are everywhere, on trees, traffic lights, guardrails, around traffic islands.
Cables
The overhead cables are both an eyesore and a threat to public safety.
They have caused accidents when torn portions of cables lie scattered on a road.
“The civic body must force the cables underground,” said a Behala resident.
Cleaner air
Micro-action at the ward-level can bring about an improvement in air quality.
An atmospheric scientist said the authorities have to concentrate on identifying and working on the local sources of pollution in each ward. When this is done across Kolkata, the air quality will naturally get better.
Kolkata’s air quality remains consistently in the range of moderate, poor, very poor and severe every winter. There is a haze across the city, which represents a picture of outdoor pollution. Persistently bad air quality can have serious health impacts.
Better roads
Roads that defeat the onslaught of rain and remain unbroken even after monsoon: a wish of every Kolkatan.
Civic engineers said that will happen only when two conditions are met — the road is sturdy and well-made, and the drainage is good so there is no waterlogging.
Bumpy roads should be repaired. A smooth road is better for the health of a vehicle as well as passengers inside.
Completed Metro lines
A new Metro line that is fully complete and not open only on a small stretch.
The East-West Metro is operational on a small stretch, the Joka-BBD Bag Metro, too, will run on a small stretch. They serve the needs of a few and make no difference to traffic now.
Who is a VIP?
Every day, Kolkatans see beacon-fitted cars flouting traffic signals and sometimes, even the police making way for them while ambulances remain stuck behind. Let’s reverse the order in 2023.