Comments on: Dhunseri IT Park in Kolkata

By: Rai

Rai — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 16:55:51 +0000

Well said, Bill.
The open question is whether the City Planners under the West Bengal State Government had a strategy with a vision when they identified the Bantala project to the drawing board. It is definitely not something that sprung up out of the blue. It is indeed very shameful for the WB State Authorities to make Bantala to become another Tangra, with all building infrastructures there progressively made redundant.
As Bura noted above – many tanneries’ owners who have moved over from Tangra to Bantala, including a number of Indian Chinese who opt to remain in the tannery business instead of restaurant eatery, are already getting hard times from the respective State Authorities citing non-coformance & non-compliance of a different new problem every day. The intention is to put on hold all tannery production in Bantala to a virtual standstill.
Is anyone there hearing the owners of tannery operations pleas ?
SHAME, SHAME, SHAME!!!!!!!!!!!

By: Bill

Bill — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 21:27:19 +0000

Recent articles in the Telegraph reported that work on the IT Park has been suspended due to the stench coming from the effluents from the tanneries. This is a surprise development. Considering Bantala was designed to be a tannery complex, how did the Government not have the infrastructure in place for effluents treatment? Bantala appears to be a re-incarnation of the old Tangra. Such a shame.

By: Bill

Bill — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 21:08:04 +0000

I agree with Leon. An IT Park is incongruent with tanneries. It won’t be long before some officials will show up at the tanneries claiming non-conformance and shutting down the remaining tanneries.
As for the Chinese restaurants in Tangra, I personally don’t believe the Government want to shut them down, but corrupt local officials will use petty excuses to get bribes from the owners.
It is high time the State Government formulate a policy to help and retain the remaining Indian Chinese and not wait until all have emigrated and no one is left from this minority group whose only request is to be allowed to make a simple living in peace without harassment.

By: Bura

Bura — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 06:50:31 +0000

So, it seems that the Indian Chinese is still living under constant fear of unknowns from the mainstream. I heard that there are currently a no. of hiccups experienced by those Indian Chinese who have moved their leather tannery operations to Bantala. The non-compliance list from the respective State Authorities is endless from sewage treatment, pollution control, waste water treatment, fire safety etc…… and hence leather production needs to be suspended. As a new day comes to dawn, so a new problem comes to surface.

What’s next: Already, some Indian Chinese have expressed concern that given the prosperity of the Chinese restaurants opened in Tangra, the next step from the State Authorities could be using some trivial excuses to move ( intention is to close ) the Chinese restaurants out from Tangra using unrealistic claims of hygiene, sanitary and pollution violations.

After some decades of patience and tolerance from a silent minority group, thought that there will be light at the end of the tunnel. The State Government should seriously ponder over their actions and intentions – and to give a breather of fresh air to the Indian Chinese survival.

By: leon

leon — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 04:42:31 +0000

yeah … sure it does …. in the plus point it’s also kindof good for the young indian chinese generation to get good jobs in the IT fields. on the down side, that place is in Bantala, which currently is the leather complex in kolkata. What if again the govt. said the leather thing is creating pollution and needs to be re shifted … you never know ..

By: michelle

michelle — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 21:16:48 +0000

dont get it….any impact to the chinese community?