On February 26, the housing societies of Action Area III, New Town met at Uniworld City to discuss various problems affecting their lives. Moderated by Ankur Roychaudhury, the vice-chairman of New Town Forum and News, a charitable trust working for social causes in New Town, the meeting was attended by representatives from every housing complex in the area.
Illegal encroachment
This was perhaps the most crucial of the issues that was discussed. The pavements and the service lanes are always congested with makeshift shops in Action Area III. Though they provide daily supplies within easy access to residents, the representatives complained that the pavements and service lanes were not being used for the right purposes. The worst hit is the Shukhobrishti-Elita Garden Vista-New Town Heights stretch, where empty stalls in NKDA AA-IIIE Market are lying ready up ahead without takers.
“The New Town MLA is being elected largely by the votes of the underprivileged people staying on the fringes. This renders the opinions of the urban residents void in the democratic process. So even if stalls crop up anywhere on the pavement, the urban residents barely get to express their opinion about it. These shopkeepers boldly say that they pay a rent to the local party office in order to retain the shop space,” said Arunangshu Chakravarty from Elita Garden Vista. At this rate, New Town would soon turn into another Gariahat, where pavements would be formally sold at a certain price, per square foot, he lamented.
Vegetable stalls clog the pavement of Karigari Bhavan near Uniworld City as well. “They urinate on our walls and the app-based online delivery service boys do so on the walls of Rosedale Garden which has outlets like KFC and Pizza Hut inside Rosedale Plaza mall,” said Pritesh Kumar of Uniworld City. Pice hotels and car repair garages encroach on the service road for over a kilometre along Orchid International School. “In fact, the service road has vanished,” he added.
Public transport
Elita Garden Vista and Shukhobrishti, being neighbours, share the same problems. The residents of both the housing societies complained about the reduction in the number of public buses since the lockdown. They maintained that there were multiple buses that operated from the Shukhobrishti-Elita Garden Vista area to south Calcutta but one of the two routes did not resume operation after the lockdown.
“The ST 12 route to Baruipur has been discontinued. There are so few options to reach south Calcutta that we have to change at the Beleghata crossing on the Bypass to reach even the Ruby Hospital crossing. Only AC 47 goes south now, to Kudghat. There is an air-conditioned bus, AC12, that goes to Howrah via Esplanade. But most residents of this area stay in MIG and LIG category flats. So we would prefer a non-air-conditioned connection to Howrah with lower ticket rates. There is the S12 route, from New Town to Howrah. Our request is to extend its terminus from the New Town bus stop depot to the Shukhobrishti depot,” said Mainak Kanrar, joint secretary, Shukhobrishti Cultural Society.
“Even ST7 that took us to Ultadanga has been stopped. Instead, there is an unnumbered air-conditioned bus to travel to Ultadanga, making it a costly proposition for us,” he added. A trip by the AC bus to Ultadanga costs Rs 35 while by a non-AC bus ticket for the same distance from Shubhobrishti would cost Rs 15.
Community space
All representatives complained of the lack of public facilities in the area. There is no childrens’ park or walking stretch for the older generation. “Recreational facilities are lacking in Action Area III,” said Roychaudhury. The residents of the Sukhobrishti area are forced to share a single ATM booth, due to the lack of any alternatives. Even that one ATM is mostly out of cash having to tackle the huge number of residents of Shukhobrishti, Elita Garden Vista and the other highrise compexes.
“Though we do have a mobile ATM vans coming from a bank to our complex once a week, one ATM is not enough for the locality,” said a resident of Elita.
Fire threat
The residents of Elita Garden Vista and DLF New Town Heights face the threat of high-tension electric wirings running right above their towers. There has been a recent incident of fire in the Shukhobrishti market area, from the overhead wirings. The residents demand underground wiring to prevent any loss of life or property in future.
Mosquitoes
The representatives at the meeting, and especially the ones from Sukhobrishti and Elita Garden Vista, pointed to the stagnant Bagjola canal as one of the biggest sources of mosquitoes in the area. The canal is cleaned once in a blue moon but for the rest of the time it contributes to water pollution and provides a breeding ground to mosquitoes. Pritesh Kumar, a resident of Uniworld City, complained that mosquitoes made life difficult for the security guards after dusk.
Lack of lights
The residents of the Uniworld City and Rosedale area raised concerns regarding their safety as well. The stretch of road from Tata Medical Center to the Uniworld - Rosedale crossing is poorly lit. The streetlights are mostly dimmed or blinking due to a lack of maintenance and some areas are just dark. The residents consider it unsafe for women and children to commute after dark. The pavements surrounding the walls of Rosedale and Uniworld City have a layer of bamboo fencing along the kerbside. These bamboo poles have either been breached in some parts or have in a few other. The walls are not high enough to prevent trespassers.
Residents of Tata Avenida and Eden Court expressed discontent about the poor condition of roads. The roads have remained so for more than a year now and the area has become accident-prone. The stretch from Eco Space to Tata Avenida is dimly lit which not only contributes to accidents but also poses a threat to the security of women and children commuting after dark. The residents have complained about the clogging of service lanes by the buses that bring employees to Eco Space. The drivers and conductors often cook and rest on the pavements, making it difficult for the residents to commute. Poor road management has led to traffic congestions at the Eco Space roundabout.
Besides raising area-specific problems, the meeting also discussed problems that are ailing the entirety of New Town. Illegal encroachment of service lanes and pavements lead to traffic jams everywhere. Often the service lanes have an unnecessary number of barricades and speed breakers. Stray cattle pose a huge threat to the traffic in most areas in New Town. Unvaccinated stray dogs are a menace too.
The residents plan to reach out to NKDA with their complaints and suggestions.