My Opinion

Nine people died in Kolkata on Tuesday after a near cloudburst caused 253 mm of rainfall within a span of only 10 hours, equivalent to the average rainfall during the entire monsoon season. Seven people died of electrocution when they came in contact with electricity cables and lampposts while wading through waterlogged areas.
Taxi, bus, metro, rail and air services were completely disrupted. 32 flights were cancelled and 42 flights were delayed. The Metro stopped plying due to waterlogging on tracks. Thousands of people were stranded in the metropolis.
Durga Puja pandals which were undergoing final stage of completion, bore the brunt of rains. Most of the pandals were waterlogged.
Woes multiplied when the afternoon sea tide brought in more water from the sea. Airport, railway stations were fully waterlogged.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee blamed the Centre for poor maintenance of Farakka Barrage that led to, what she said, overflow of water, which deluged Kolkata. She also criticized CESC (Calcutta Electricity Supply Corporation) for poor maintenance of power cables in the city.
Blame games apart, the fact is: Kolkata’s drainage system is crumbling. Kolkata Municipal Corporation, run by Mamata’s Trinamool Congress, is responsible for cleaning the city drains.
India’s top metros like Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru or Hyderabad, are overcrowded. The drainage systems that were built decades ago, were meant to handle population, that has nearly tripled over the years. In all the metros, people throw garbage into drains choking them. When there is no rain, problems are not faced, but once there is heavy rainfall, the drainage system chokes. This is exactly what happened in Kolkata.
The weather department has predicted heavy rainfall in Kolkata in the coming days. There is low pressure in the northeastern part of Bay of Bengal which can cause heavy rains. These woes have come at a time when the state was gearing up to celebrate the annual Durga Puja with fanfare.
Lakhs of people visit Kolkata to watch the Puja pandals. Crores of money are spent to build and decorate the pandals.
For the Bengalis, Durga Puja is a time for celebration. I pray to Goddess Durga to alleviate the sufferings of the people so that they can celebrate their festival with joy.

Will Azam Khan continue in Samajwadi Party?

Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan came out of prison after 23 months in Uttar Pradesh. As he came out of Sitapur jail, hundreds of SP workers welcomed him on the way in Shahjahanpur, Bareilly and Rampur.
Azam Khan did not speak much to the media. For the last several days, speculation was rife about the possibility of him joining Mayawati’s party BSP, but he remained mum on this issue. Azam Khan said, he had been away from politics since long, he would first recuperate and then think about his political future.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav expressed happiness over Azam Khan’s release and promised to withdraw all cases filed against him once his party returns to power. He described Azam Khan as a “true Samajwadi”.
There are, in all, 104 cases against Azam Khan, out of which verdicts have come out in 12 cases. He was acquitted in seven cases, and was sentenced in remaining five cases. In all other cases, he has been granted bill.
Azam Khan was first arrested in February, 2020 and he spent 27 months in prison at that time. He was again sent to jail in October, 2023 and remained in prison for 23 months. In these 50 months, Akhilesh Yadav went to jail to meet him only once and that too, before the Lok Sabha elections.
Azam Khan has been a staunch follower of Akhilesh Yadav’s late father Mulayam Singh Yadav. He was elected nine times as MLA and was elected to Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha also.
During his difficult times, Samajwadi Party did not extend him the support that he required. Naturally, this would be rankling in his mind.
Azam Khan is an old, experienced leader. He can feel the pulse of time. He can understand which way the wind is blowing. He cannot join the BJP. Mayawati’s BSP has become weak in Uttar Pradesh. There is, therefore, less possibility of him leaving the Samajwadi Party.
Azam Khan is not well. He will be giving more time to his health than politics. Let us hope that he recovers soon and become active in UP politics again.
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