arup_c

This clip of sports facilities created by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation has gone viral globally, with comments that marvel at the optimal & beneficial use of urban space. It is indeed a wonderful addition to Kolkata & will add to the already transforming image of the city. Happily, this isn't the first example of such urban ingenuity in India. Indore pioneered the concept in 2021 by transforming the space beneath the Pipliyahana flyover into an exclusive sports complex. Since then, cities like Surat, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, and Vadodara have followed suit. In 2023, I had posted about a similar transformation in Navi Mumbai, hoping it would spark a nationwide trend. While many states, Odisha being a prime example, are building world-class centralized hubs, the real shift happens in the neighborhood. By dispersing sports access into everyday urban spaces, we do more than build courts; we nurture a sporting mindset and culture from the ground up.

There are literally women and they are playing such abusive songs in a religious rally?? No one disrespects Hinduism like Hindus do. You won’t see any other religious group playing abusive songs & dancing on them. This is shameful.

The most obvious and human response to state atrocity is public demonstration. In Bengal, over 80 lakh voters are about to be disenfranchised, this election or not, with no judicial relief, having clear religious & gender bias. The bad egg here is the rogue state, not the people.