Why these Kolkata morning walkers have reserved their Sunday mornings for protest!.
The Bengal Rowing Club, The Lake Club, The Calcutta Rowing Club, and the Indian Life Saving Society (formerly The Anderson Club) stand right on the fringes of the water body and thrive by catering to an upper middle class clientele from the city.
In 2013, a case was filed by Sumita Banerjee and Calcutta Citizen’s Initiative at the Calcutta High Court, with the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, KIT and the clubs in Rabindra Sarobar as respondents.
It directed that there should be no pollution or encroachment of the lake, nor should any construction be allowed in the zone.
Banerjee admits that the monitoring committee is today largely a titular body with no real powers, and orders of the Court continue to be flouted openly.
However, there are no sewage lines and since this stands right in the middle of the lake, its impact on the lake water is only too evident.
Yet, as the clubs have flourished and events such as rowing competitions have become more frequent, there has been evident dwindling in the numbers of these avian visitors.
The woes of unending concretisation In 2014, the KIT launched a mammoth beautification drive that included among other things the creation of concretised pathways and sitting areas, landscaping work along the lake shores, and installation of decorative lights.
It has always been open to everyone and the mosque was just another place of worship that posed no restriction to the movements of visitors to the lake area.
The people wish to turn that green patch into a free children’s park, so that it can remain a part of the commons and not get converted into a restricted area for any particular community.