Each evening on my way back to home I cross the Ruby-Golpark circle. A gigantic billboard forces you to look up almost causing neck pain. This particular one is carrying advertisement from no other than the government - The Government Of West Bengal. Today it was a new one with a picture of high-rising, under-construction building in the background and a head and shoulder shot of what appears to be three slum kids (i will append a picture of this tomorrow). The poster hails the programs of the government claiming huge investments in improving the conditions of slums in Kolkata. Though I am fortunate enough to not live in a slum and this post is not about the government's real eagerness to improve the slum conditions - that picture itself evokes the bitter experience of a city dweller trying to find a place in the city to call it home.
The background; not of any grave matter - but of the picture is what concerns me. The seven story modern flat that serves as a background of that image and will serve as home for its future inhabitants tells a bigger story than it appears to the unsuspecting eye. These flats are invariably built by some promoter (these guys come in all sizes) and sold to people like me at prices that are at least 3 times their true construction cost. Part of this bloating comes from the demand-supply equation and the other part comes from the invisible land / real estate mafia that operates at the aegis of the advertiser namely the Government Of West Bengal. This government is really what remains of the so called Communist Party Of India (Marxists). The party is the government and vice versa. The promoter of the flat in which I stay just alike the one pictured in the billboard paid upfront price equivalent to the price of about 10 flats to the local party men. And then came the suppliers for all the raw materials; these suppliers were again chosen by the party (because the suppliers themselves probably came from nearby slums - at least the party does actually help the poor slum dweller!) and the promoter has to procure the raw materials at whatever price the supplier (party) decides. Result; additional impact on the cost and what's more dreadful - poor quality of raw material. I have had to change the electrical switches and sockets of the almost the entire house within the first year of starting to live in it. And coming to the question of living in the flat, the party still decides who you are going to employ as the security guards and how much you must contribute to the local party office each year as a price towards 'living in peace'. Or Else...The party will deter you from entering your own house, they will post their cadres with their motorbikes and completely block your main entrance. This is the city where the party can decide who will marry who and what would be the price of a piece of concrete you call home. The list goes on and on and on and enough is enough. And party comrades listen up, it is not just neck pain anymore.
