This kind of job is usually not done by people like Parimal Dey whom the reporter met first in Guwahati about half a decade back. In spite of being a Bengali he became a high profile politically influencial man of Assam and that is not a simple matter. He was not interested in participating in elections. But he had been a busy social worker on whom even several national political leaders had to depend. The present unique activism at his Kolkata residential area is just a small expression of his decades’ long practice of political leadership.
He spent his own money and garnered local support to convert the garbage dump into an attractive park and clean and reconstruct the pond that had filled with garbage. “Parimalda himself is the pioneer and the main architect of this entire development,” said many people in the locality.
All the house owners are now painting their homes in the same colour to give the developed area a new and improved look. The residents around the newly developed small tank talked about the difference before and after the development
and expressed their gratitude for the bold activism of their senior neighbour.
The park has been mainly decorated with a view to pleasing and educating the children with paintings of different aquatic animals like dolphins and also national flags of different countries. On the north side of the tank, the broad and colourful path is very pleasing. The bank around the tank has been landscaped with greenery. There has been no use of concrete around the pond. This is environment-friendly. “It is not at all finished. More will be done to improve the entire area and decorate the bank of the pond and sitting arrangements,” said Parimal Dey. He describes many things about how he has been thinking about the project. The local people are very also very enthusiastic and have promised to maintain the place.
At a time, when the Government of India and Government of WB also has been very keen on cleanliness in every respect and the Modi government is very proactive in Swatch Bharat programme, the case of Parimal Dey has been noteworthy. If this event inspires more & more people it will be more effective than the individual job of Parimal Dey's.
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