CALCUTTA TRAMSTrams - Out, In
SECOND thoughts have triumphed as they often do in the Left Front government
with transport minister Subhas Chakraborty conceding that Calcutta trams are
here to stay. "Trams will never go away from calcutta, rather they are coming
back in a big way", Mr. Chakraborty pledged, in a marked departure from his
predecessor Shyamal Chakravarty, who proposed the scrapping of the century old
network. The envy of many developed countries, Calcutta's tramways network is
a priceless asset which should be preserved. Many European countries who in
the 1950s and 1960s had discarded trams for being slow, obsolete and a source
of traffic congestion are now spending millions of dollars re-laying tracks
and bringing back trams because they are eco-friendly,efficient and economical.
The state government has the rare opportunity to learn from the mistakes of
others.
What the network does require is refurbishment and modernisation. The state
government has signed an agreement with ICF Kaiser International Inc to conduct
a feasibility study for modernisation of CTC. In fact, Mr. Jyoti Basu has asked
the same American transportation firm to carry out a feasibility study in 1995,
bearing in mind the indigenous problems of Calcutta. Nothing happened. Some
months later a German company showed interest in revamping the tramways. This
too fizzled out. Over the last two years the government does not seem to have
made any headway. The latest study will cost Rs 3 crore and take six months
before the report is ready. The need of the hour is less discussion and more
action. Let there be no more doubts about the survival of Calcutta's trams.
Instead of wasting money on more studies, it can be put to better use
modernising the tramways.
The Statesman - June 22, 1997
