Kolkata Korner

Japan And Buddha
The Japanese have a major grouse against Bengal’s ruling Marxists. And for good reason. When no investor in the world was willing to spare a second thought, or look, towards Bengal, it was the Japanese who poured in their yen into this state, staring off with the showcase Mitsubishi Chemicals at Haldia and a slew of infrastructure and other projects. And now, when things have started looking up, the Marxists (who had been falling over backwards to woo theJapanese) are being ungrateful. How? Japanese Consul General in Kolkata, Yoshikazu Takeuchi, points to the award of a Rs 1500 crore contract to build a vital bridge over the Hooghly to an Indonesian firm with which Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has been playing footsie of late. Takeuchi, who termed the decision as "regrettable", has reasons to feel let down. It was the Japan International Cooperation Agency that had prepared the detailed project report for the project for free and the award given to the Indonesian firm was based on this report. Also, the deal with the Indonesians was signed while negotiations were on with the Japanese to fund the project. Taking a swipe at the CM, the Japanese envoysays that while he understands Bhattacharjee’s "passion and enthusiasm" for faster development of the state, it needs to be remembered that the Japanese are "better equipped" to execute such mega projects and Japanese assistance was "surest, safest and the best". Is Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee listening?

Friends Forever?
But Bhattacharjee need not be worried sick over Takeuchi’s frown. The Japanese envoy may be upset, but that won’t stop theJapaneses from extending favours to Communist Bengal. Just like they have been doing for the past few decades. The Japanese Bank of International Cooperation, which has been routing investments to Bengal, announced it wants office space in Kolkata since it plans to expand its prospecting and investment activities in this state. The Bank said it plans to invest in major transport infrastructure projects in the state and also work with the Bengal government in environmental protection, solid waste management and constructing sewage systems. The Bank will be pitching for major contracts for which global tenders have been floated. These announcements should serve as an important lesson to Bhattacharjee & Co: that friends of bad times should become closer friends during good times. Friends, after all, are forever.

‘Fizz’ling Out
Bengal’s water resources minister, who belongs to the CPI, has been clamouring for a ban on colas for the past couple of weeks. Colas manufactured in Bengal, argued theminister, contain not only pesticides, but also arsenic that’s found in groundwater. And, as he’s been reminding everyone, we can’t allow our people to drink poison! But just how very ludicrous for aminister to say this. It’s well known that arsenic contamination of groundwater in large parts of the state has reached epidemic proportions. And thousands of people have been drinking arsenic-contaminated water, suffering from arsenic poisoning and meeting terrible deaths. Arsenic is present in crops, including green vegetables, grown in Bengal’s fields. Millions consumethis everyday and have started suffering the consequences. Scientific establishments, researchers and consumer activists have been crying themselves hoarse over arsenic contamination of groundwater and urging (in vain, of course) the government to take some action. The recommended action includes providing safe drinking water and reducing farmers’ dependence on groundwater for irrigation while also recharging the groundwater in order to lower arsenic levels in it. But all this is lost on theminister, who has been attempting to gain quick publicity by targeting the cola majors. And when he did voice his demand (to ban the colas) at a cabinet meeting this week, he was ignored. His was the lone voice, and one that drew a quick response from the Chief Minister: there’ll be no ban till New Delhi moves first.

Snail’s Pace
Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee may have coined a slogan - "Do itNow" - to urge Bengal’s notoriously slow bureaucracy to get cracking, but the babus have evidently ignored it. And no less a person than Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi has now got a taste of Bengal’s bureaucratic sloth. Three months ago, he wrote to the state environment department asking for details on wetlands in and around Kolkata and seeking clarifications on allegations that waterbodies have been filled up in many areas to construct industrial units, commercial complexes and housing estates. Gandhi received no response and last week, his office wrote to the department once again. Guess what happened to the Governor’s first letter? It kept doing the rounds from one junior babu’s table to another till it lay, forgotten, inside a dusty file on a dustier table. Last week’s reminder from the gubernatorial mansion got the department moving to trace the original letter. And now that the letter has been found, what is the department planning to do? Why, set up a committee to collect all the data, frame a draft reply, seek theminister’s approval and then prepare the final reply! A process that’ll take a few more months, at least.

East Vs West
Bengal, that is. This is an eternal debate that Bengalis love to indulge in, and one that gets very animated when it veers towards Bengalis’ pet passion--food. It wasn’t, thus, surprising to hear perfect bhadraloks engaged in a lively, and often heated, discussion on the cuisines of the twoBengals - east and west - at a lunch-cum-adda session hosted by a chamber of commerce a few days ago to "promote" ties between Bengal and Bangladesh. Diplomats (from Bangladesh), businessmen, bureaucrats, socialites and scribes participated in the debate that lasted for a good couple of hours. And, expectedly, at the end of it all, the‘West Bengalis’ were left red-faced. Thanks to their pathetic lack of any gastronomical fare that can measure up to even an amateur’s attempt to cook dishes from the east. The‘West Bengalis’ were hard put to even roll out the names of their dishes-the aloo-posto and chutneys could hardly hold against the never-ending list of delectable preparations that their eastern counterparts listed. Having established (but not once and for all) that food from ‘that’ Bengal far surpasses whatever passes off as ‘west’ Bengal cuisine, guests sat back to enjoy the mouth-watering spread comprising almost wholly of (what else?) dishes that only Bangals (as people from the east are referred to) can prepare.

Grand Return
There’s good news for Kolkata’s food lovers. Nizam’s, an institution by itself in this city, will reopen its doors very soon under a new management. The eatery, which opened in 1932, has attracted countless foodies and a large, loyal clientele across the globe. Synonymous with kebabs, rolls and biryanis, it had succumbed to that Kolkataplague -- labour trouble, dharnas and eventual lockout -- a few years ago. News of its re-opening, thus, will be greeted with loud applause by Kolkatans. More so as the new management has promised to not only retain the old cooks and the ambience, but also add to the menu items like sea and fresh water fish and prawn biryani. Cheers to that.

Postscript
Guess why Left MPs in Parliament played spoilsport and opposed the hike insalaries and allowances that our parliamentarians gave to themselves earlierthis week? Because they don’t stand to gain anything from the hikes! Yes. In case you didn’t know, they have to deposit their salaries andallowances -- all their earnings, in fact -- to the state units of their parties. Being full-time workers of their parties, they get only small allowances depending on their material needs as decided by their party bosses. They, thus, have no interest in the hikes. And what’s the harm if they posture a bit on ‘moral’ and ‘ethical’ lines to oppose such hikes?