Kolkata, Oct 14 - Only as Durga Puja dawns does the spotlight fall on the artisans of Kumartuli. The rest of the year, the three-century-old potters' town in the heart of Kolkata has to brave oblivion - and with it leaky roofs, dingy lanes, waterlogged streets and incessant rainfall.Now, with the five-day
festival of the Bengalis set to start this week, the West Bengal government is drawing up a blueprint for its makeover.'We have transactions of around Rs.90 million every year at Kumartuli. Despite doing good business, we are still living in unhygienic conditions,' Mintu Pal, general secretary of the Kumartuli Mrith Shilpi Association, told IANS.'There is a serious
space crunch, filthy
environment and no civic amenities in terms of road infrastructure and drainage.'Sudhanshu Seal, an MP of the state's ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) who is spearheading the committee constituted for Kumartuli's makeover, said: 'The Kumartuli rehab plan is finally ready.'The Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNURM) project worth Rs.260 million will start at the end of the current year. The entire work will take one and a half years to complete.'He said the state government has prepared a blueprint for the complete makeover of Kumartuli, where 4,000-odd artisans live. The term 'kumar' denotes a potter and 'tuli' means locality in Bengali.The Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) will implement the project, 35 percent of its cost being borne by the central government, 15 percent by the state government, and the remaining 50 percent being arranged through loans.The KMDA will construct houses for the artisans over five acres of land at Kumartuli on the ground-plus-three-floors pattern. It will also build an
art gallery for artisans to showcase their creations.Seal said the plan was conceptualised in 2005 and was supposed to be implemented last year.'The project got a little delayed since we were in talks with the artisans over land and rehabilitation issues. The work will formally start in phases from November this year after the season gets over,' he said.The history of Kumartuli, the clay model-makers' haven, dates back to the 17th century when potters in search of better livelihood came from Krishnagar to Gobindapore, a prosperous village on the banks of the Bhagirathi (now
river Hooghly), to make a living by making pots, clay toys and cooking utensils for household use.
(c) Indo-Asian News Service
