Monday, March 29, 2010

Stupidity at its bottom!

On 23 March 2010, exactly a week ago, the Stephen's Court, a heritage building which had two floors illegally built on its top, in Kolkata caught fire at noon. And as of today, as the debris is being cleared, still dead bodies are being unearthed! And today, 29 March 2010, it stands at 43. The State Government has announced a 11 member inquiry committee. Who are all in it? The Fire Department, the Public Works department (PWD), the Electricity department, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, the Police Department...... and the list goes long. The list looks good. But it has an inherent problem. How did the fire department give clearance to an illegal building, with only wooden staircases, which caught fire quickly, and so, people could not climb down at all! How did the electricity department give electrical connections to Stephen's Court, and it continues to give connection to thousands and thousands across the state, who live on illegal land, including on the land of many municipalities and panchayats? How is that the PWD department give facilities for water, and other facilities, including accepting to live with the illegal construction? The Kolkata Municipal Corporation seem to have had over 9 million rupees in due from this building alone as unpaid taxes. Who was bribing them? What was the police doing in all this? Now, you get my point! The people who are charged with are the ones who are going to probe it! Making a laughing stock of the government and the people. This is stupidity at its rock bottom.

This is a government that never learns. The people haven't learned it either.

1 comment:

Ryan M.D. said...

I'm sure all the money came form New Orleans!

I haven't heard of any large sums and I bet all the contractors from down south took it to Kolkata...

I think a newman center person said it best years ago. "This is like a catastrophic train wreck but you can't seem to not stare in utter amusement!"

Hope all is well for you padre!