My days in Kolkata

It’s been a month and a half since I came to India.  More than a month of this time has been spent in Kolkata. Every day I take either a bus or a taxi. I walk from where we live to the main road to catch the public transportation of the day (bus or taxi) and then walk again from the bus stop to my destination.

All along the way, I observe the roads, the sidewalks (or footpaths/pavement as they are referred to in India), curbs, gutter and every road side object I can possibly notice.  Along with the people who use these amenities.  I notice the contrast between Kolkata and Northern Virginia. 

In Virginia, my office commute is along an arterial road that has beautiful broad sidewalks, well-paved roads, ample lighting and perfect drainage to counter rain and snow.  Yet not a soul uses these facilities for most of the day…the only ones using them are usually low-income folks catching the local buses or people walking from the parking lots to a destination.  Here in Kolkata, there are hardly any pedestrian facilities. Most of the sidewalks are occupied by street hawkers, construction materials, garbage, abandoned vehicles etc.  But the pedestrians are teeming…like me, they use the roads to walk to the bus stops, nearby markets and shops, catch a taxi or walk to the rail stations nearby. 

The roads in Virginia are well-paved, have ample lighting and excellent drainage to counter rain and snow.  The roads are packed with cars, many of them SUVs and mini-vans, with mostly single occupants.

The roads in Kolkata are getting better but even now several have potholes (mostly after rains), and poor drainage facilities.  However, the roads themselves are full of public transportation.  The buses, taxis and trains are packed with people at all hours of the day till late night.  You can still see the once popular rickshaws for shorter commutes, mostly to access local galis. 

I see the lack of facilities on Indian roads; yet the more I see, the more I realize that this comes closer to a mixed-use, multi-modal transport that sustainability professionals talk about… it will take time for Indian cities to reach the scale of new urbanism and walkability that is frequently talked about in Western countries…  but I see Indian cities being more geared towards these new ideas than the Western cities (walking is infrequent and mostly for recreational purposes in most parts of US).  Hopefully, India will have models of transit-oriented development and new urbanism sooner that what most think….