The tragedy of North Kolkata and Dumdum, and the dog problem

The tragedy of North Kolkata, and the dog problem

As the swift flow of time ceaselessly moves into the colossal abyss filled with uncertainty called future, the megacity of Kolkata, heart and crown alike of Bengal, progresses rapidly. But certainly, there are side-effects of such rapid urbanization and fast pace of development, especially because it's not properly getting distributed allover the city.



Let me explain my statement. While Park Street, Esplanade, Salt Lake, New Town and their likes continue to attract tourists, from within and outside the country, much of North Kolkata lies in absolutely neglected and almost wretched state. Filth, dirt and animal faeces often make up for half the narrow lanes each named colourfully, such as R.N Guha Road, Amartpalli Street etc. Considering Kolkata to a thermodynamic system, it seems all of its entropy is getting deposited on its northern part. Tremendous population pressure and no sign of any gradual fall in the very same constitute the major fraction of our worries.

A broken drain, often a common sight in front of the residences at Dumdum

I myself live in North Kolkata, in fact the very northernmost edge of Kolkata, the popular Nagerbazar area of Dumdum. Being the northern border or frontier of Kolkata whatever you call it, the place is of extreme importance in terms of inter-district commerce and should not be neglected. Yet, even after the 'Poriborton' or shifting of power in the Writers' Building from the pincers of Communism to the reign of right-wing Trinamool government, I witnessed few changes worthy of being mentioned here. Roads remain broken as usual, and the Corporation possibly has other things to worry about rather than rectifying the condition here.

Water bodies such as this can be modified into beautiful lakes

I know, and do solemnly thank the government for multiple levels of development and developmental projects taking place all around the region, some of which are notable. For example, power failures, the so-called 'load shadings' are things of the past. The new transformer setup at Golpark, Dumdum has immensely boosted electricity supply and efficiency of the region. Many of the main roads, if not all, have been alread repaired or are undergoing rapid rapairs right as I pen down my words. New flyovers such as the Nagerbazar Flyover extending from Satgachi Moore area to near the Rishi Bankim Chandra Road near the Ordinance Factory, Dumdum etc are also actively contributing to minimizing traffic problems here.

But at the same time, lurking hidden forever between high-rising housings and apartments are the forgotten streets of Kolkata, where little sunlight enters and ever littler fresh air passes through. The mossy, stinky streets continue to house more and more dogs, which the Kolkata administration is practically ignoring. Dogs continue to be the main source of trouble here, dropping faeces almost everywhere, biting and attacking people, otherwise crowding the streets and thus hampering bicycle trips and travel by rickshaws, and producing even more of their kinds.

A glorious member of the elite dog squadron

I recently went to the Buxa Tiger reserve of Duars, and the dogs I met there really impressed me. Well-mannered, surprisingly clean and friendly, those little creatures practically guide tourists like me around there, possibly expecting a pat and a couple of biscuits in return, nothing we couldn't manage sparing. But just after returning to my home-city, I find myself in the terrific vortex of these streets and lanes, where the 'noble' members of the Kolkata Metropolitan Canidae squad continue to chase, scare, attack, bite, vomit and reproduce, not to mention their significant contribution to Indian music, in form of their famous howls which continue from evening to dawn.


Carriers of germs and all kinds of malevolent microbes, these filthy creatures still draw much sympathy from the local residents, some of them even getting regular shares of meals from their patrons. But on the other hand, they've started degrading the condition further in a newer way still. Whenever I happen to pass by a cemented dustbin, I almost always find it occupied by a dog. Not that I want to take shelter inside it myself, don't get me wrong, but keeping them empty is essential. Dogs and pups keep on bringing in trash from the bins to roads. And certainly, they eat a lot of garbage and present it in a modified form, dog-vomit and faeces, to decorate the roads. And the fecundity of these angry, rapid creatures never ceases to astonish me. Every single bitch, to use the word literally, is a proud mother of 5 to 10 pups, all the little guys battling for the mother's milk. And what about the hidden heroes, the fathers? Proudly biting their own progeny and often mortally wounding the very same, possibly dog-schooling them.

Garbage is just dumped anywhere around Golpark

I am not saying that we should just kill these creatures, that would be plain violent. But at the same time, we can always improve the situation by tackling the problem in an alternate way. Invest in terms of labour, time and money, and set the following things up, and we can have cleaner streets:


1. An active department for catching and training dogs. The dogs remain in check, can't bite or attack anyone, will be treated medically, get regular baths and so on. People find more employment, because a major portion of this entire process requires minimal skills. Gradually, by restricting their breeding, we can keep their population in check. Also, this thing will pay itself back. Using selective breeding techniques, better dogs can be bred from the existing stockpile, which can be trained and sold away to families willing to buy a pet, thus earning revenue.


2. Regular chemical infertilization of dogs, thereby restricting their population levels from rising any further. This keeps streets cleaner, makes the entire region easier to manage and maintain, and certainly brings some peace and quietness here.


3. Garbage bins should be better covered, so that these filthy creatures can't get into them.


These are the basics which should be followed by the government. Aesthetics should be considered seriously, because we can't stay productive and clean ourselves in a horrible environment. At the physical level, we should try to build a cleaner surrounding. This is where we do spend most of our lives, citizens of Kolkata, shouldn't we try to make it a bit better? In the long run, Kolkata might not be London, but we can certainly elevate it from the current grimy and filthy state to something better.