South Kolkata is the home of the elites of the State. In the post-Independence period, most of the powerful political leaders of the government, bureaucrats, technocrats, including university professors and corporate personalities, who were well established in the society settled in this very place. The elites from Hatibagan and Fariapukur found a new address in skyscrapers in Southern Avenue, and multi storied apartments in Bhabhanipur.
The once booming Usha Sewing Machine (Jay Engineering), Bengal Lamp, Sulekha and Krishna Glass Factory made way for plush posh apartments which became the homes of Tollywood stars and failed industrialists (who en-cashed the properties of the closed factories).
Bhabanipur was once the home of Gujratis and Punjabis, but today one can hardly find a Saradji taxi driver in Kolkata. Similarly the South Indians who settled around Lake Market area have shifted to other parts of India, a change which can be witnessed with the closure of the famous South Indian food restaurant in adjoining Sarat Bose Road.
Today, the once thriving South Kolkata has transformed into an old age home.
In 1966, when Smt Indira Gandhi drove away foreign investors and handed over companies like Dunlop, Shaw Wallace, and hundreds of Jute Mills and Tea Estates to ordinary businessmen, the demand of professionals faded away. Jute Mills, and Tea Estates were being run by the nephew and nieces of the businessmen and gradually these companies lost their reputations in the international market. Thus, began the Brain Drain, and four political figures emerged in West Bengal, namely Jyoti Basu, Chittobrata Majumdar (both from CPIM), Subhod Banerjee (SUCI) and Charu Majumdar (Naxal).
Despite having the first IIT and IIM in the country, the posh areas of the city became an old age home as it failed to absorb even 5 percent of the candidates during the last 20 years in campus interviews. Now, the aged parents await for a telephonic or video calls from their son or daughter who have settled abroad, or in Delhi, Bangalore or Pune.
It has too been a frustrating time for the PSC / SSC aspirants, as they kept waiting for the exams which never happened.
The TV Advertisements of many Institutes like RICE, MICE and George Telegraph went missing, many private Engineering college closed down permanently, and from IITians to daily wage earners, all were forced to migrate to other cities for a decent living.
Despite all these, a certain class of people thrived. Aided by influential politicians, the Illegal land developers, the Syndicates (an organized form of extortion racket), Extortionists in Tollygunge Film Industry, and above all the” Cut Money” recipients flourished.
Legislator Arup Biswas, and the jail bird Srikant Mohta contolled the Tollygunge film industry, and the technicians, film stars were deprived of their remunerations. Film actor Dev, was forced to contest in Lok Sabha Polls, and his two mega films Chander Pahar , Amazon Abhijan were sold to Mohta, who was a puppet in the hands of an influential politician.
The lesser we talk about building of infrastructure projects, the better. Not a single Station could be completed in the much hyped Garia-Airport Metro. Kolkata Port, controlled by mafias is long dead. The Budge Budge to Ruby Hospital Mono Rail project becomes a talking point before elections, and evaporates as soon as elections are over. The flyover from Garia to Dhakuria is still in our dreams. While Delhi could complete the construction of 150 Metro Railway Stations over the past 12 years, Kolkata during the regime of Mamata Banerjee could only complete 11.
In the field of Education, Jadavpur University, Asutosh College, Ballygunge Science College and even APC Polytechnic, ITI Ballygunge were reputed centers of learning, but today most of these have faded away. Mamata Banerjee once requested the private schools to reduce their monthly fees, but many of those schools hiked their fees by 10 percent. Why?? Is a portion of the fees being extorted to Harish Chatterjee Street! Bratya Basu, the then Education Minister was removed for introducing online admissions in colleges, and today one has to pay over a lac as Cut Money, for admissions!
Slaughter Houses has been built beside E. M. Bypass, and not hospitals. The hospitalization charges are beyond the reach of the common man or woman, and can be accessed by only the rich and affluent. The city too has only one trauma care, and accident victims have no alternative, and the families of the victim are left with the only option of selling all their properties to pay off the exorbitant bills. Few years ago, when an accident victim breathed his last in Apollo Hospital, Mamata Banerjee offered a Govt job to the wife of the victim, and the very next day the hospital fees were hiked which too led to a hike in premiums of health insurance.
South Kolkata has always been the strong hold of the Congress Party, and for this very reason Shovandeb Chattopadhyay opted to contest from Rashbehari Constituency after the death of the Congress legislator Hoimi Basu. Subroto Mukherjee too decided to contest from Ballygunge after his defeat from Chowringhee Constituency. Mamata Banerjee contested from Bhabanipur as it was considered to be a safe seat, and Firad Hakim contested from Kolkata Port Constituency.
But, in 2021 Shobvandeb and Mamata are not contesting from their respective Constituencies, and why did they opt to contest from other constituencies!
The South Kolkata Constituency never re-elected the Parliamentarians for the second time, heavy weight candidates like Asim Krishna Dutta, Biren Sen, Ranen Sen, Priyo Ranjan Das Munshi, Ganesh Ghosh, Dilip Chakraborty, Bhola Sen, Satyasadhan Chakraborty, Biplob Dasgupta lost the elections from this constituency in their second attempt. But, for Mamata Banerjee it was different story altogether, she won from this very constituency for six consecutive terms, and later when she became the CM of the state, TMC candidates never lost their elections from South Kolkata.
Probably, the people of South Kolkata have changed their minds, and so the arrogant and powerful legislators have opted to contest from other constituencies, as South Kolkata which was once their stronghold is no longer safe place for them.
Joydeep