The Value Of The Wetlands In Kolkata
Kolkata, is the city where I was born and brought up and doing something for the city was my dream. Through this thesis, I intend to create awareness about the importance of the wetlands to the city and how we are destroying it day by day and provide planning strategies to save it.
Kolkata has been blessed by the Maidan in the center, which acts as the Lungs of the City and the Wetlands in the east which acts as the kidney, and helps to process all the waste water of the city. The services provided by the wetlands to the city and the suburbs are involuntary, invaluable and most importantly, irrecoverable, if the wetlands are lost. The inhabitants of the wetlands, have perfected the art of turning „Waste to Wealth‟ using the sewage and waste water generated by the city, to produce fish, vegetables and rice. The Maidan being at the heart of Kolkata and the land ownership being under the Indian Army, it enjoys immunity against urban development pressures and encroachments.
The same, however, cannot be said about the wetlands, which have been neglected totally for centuries. The land ownership being fragmented under several individuals and authorities, combined with the demand for land and proximity to the city, is making it vulnerable for urban growth and encroachments. The process of land reclamation started after Independence with the need of a new area to serve as an extension of the city and also handle the ever-growing population due to Partition. This gave rise to the brainchild of Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy – Salt Lake City on the marshes, north of Kolkata. Little did one know about the long term implications of such a construction. Then the construction of Eastern Metropolitan Bypass in the 1970‟s ensured that urban sprawl would continue undeterred irrespective to the threat it poses to the wetlands. After this inch by inch the wetlands started depleting, and after India became a member of the Ramsar Convention, the East Kolkata Wetlands were declared as an internationally protected eco-sensitive Ramsar Site. Even after this it made no difference to the attitude of the State Government or the local people. Instead of expanding the city along the river in a north-south direction, and enhancing the waterways, the government wants to expand the city towards the east, which gave rise to the New Town-Rajarhat Township.
Presently the wetlands are engulfed on three sides by the growing urban sprawl, and if the proposed Outer Ring Road through the wetlands materializes, then it poses a grave threat for the wetlands of being in a land-locked situation. If such a situation arises then alongwith the wetlands, the city will also be in serious trouble. It is high time we realize the value of the wetlands. If they are lost, Kolkata will be facing an imminent disaster. Immediate strict planning interventions are required to save the city.
