Shrubs hemming the manicured lawns were trampled upon even as sachets of chewing tobacco, plastic cups and cigarette butts lay strewn across the greenery on Sunday, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended a glittering programme to mark the beginning of the 125th anniversary celebrations of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
The southern part of the lawns — that was taken over by a rowdy audience that apparently barged in late — suffered greater damage. The ‘Jai Shri Ram’ chants came from this section who came in between the dais and the audience sitting on chairs behind them, according to some of the invited guests who attended the programme.
The VMH authorities swung into action to clean up the mess, though. “We engaged extra staff to clean up the area on a war-footing and restore the greenery, in case it was damaged,” said a senior VMH officer.
“They paid no heed to my appeal. I had to depend on the loudspeakers to follow the performances and hear what was being said. They were laughing loudly and chanting political slogans which are not generally heard in such government-organized programs,” said Amita Sen, a member of the audience who was seated in the southern part of the lawns.
“I heard that a much bigger crowd — than what could be accommodated — managed to sneak inside the garden. This must have led to a chaos. This should have been prevented at such a high-profile programme. Causing damage to the environment is a crime,” said Kashi Khandelwal, a member of Victoria’s morning walkers’ association Suprabhat. Narayan Jain, former president of Concern for Calcutta, said, “Some people are extremely careless and don’t understand the importance of ecologically sensitive places. I hope VMH authority will restore the lost greenery immediately.”
The western side of the sprawling garden, too, suffered considerable damages. A thick layer of vegetable oil, that had formed a pool, was waiting to be drained into the water tank inside the garden. A temporary kitchen had been set up there and hecklers had stormed inside to grab food packets, according to the cleaning staff.
“We had a harrowing time collecting and removing a mountain of trash. Even a common visitor, who enters the garden, is generally respectful of the environment at the garden. Visitors seldom throw trash on the lawn, making sure to use trash bins which are placed all over the garden,” said a cleaning staff. The gardeners maid futile attempts to restore the trampled shrubs on Sunday.
Entry into the VMH is not unrestricted. How can you allow more people than the seating capacity? It is a red zone, where the highest amount of environmental care needs to be adopted. This is a violation of judicial order if environmental damage has been caused inside this protected zone,” said Subhas Datta, a prominent environment activist.
Even though passes were issued against specific guests, a large number were in the possession of some middle-rung BJP leaders who distributed them among their men, according to a Kolkata Police officer. “They were allowed only after all guests were let in. We sensed they were potential trouble makers. But at the venue, we had a very limited role,” said the officer.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/victoria-clears-mess-left-behind-by-cm-hecklers/articleshow/80437705.cms
