The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday directed the state to form a committee and submit a report on ways in which tram services can be restored and preserved in the city.
The Division Bench comprising Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam and Justice Ajay Kumar Gupta was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed for the preservation of the tram in the city. The court directed that the committee should include relevant government officials, tram enthusiasts, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) and experts in heritage conservation.
“People of Kolkata are very passionate about the trams and it is an iconic symbol like yellow taxis…Elsewhere in the world wherever there are such tram they have been replaced by new tram cars which resemble the old tram cars but with new technology. Therefore if you want to pursue, definitely the state can do it…for expenditure purposes if the entire stretch cannot be covered then at least the major routes,” the Court observed. The Court also stated that if there was a tram facility on Red Road then it would be a great tourist attraction.
Earlier, the state Transport department, in an affidavit submitted at Calcutta High Court, stated that it intends to revive the seven more tram routes in the city by the year 2025. If this is made possible, then the number of tram routes will increase from three to ten.
Currently, three tram routes in the city continue to be operational, which includes Shyambazar-Esplanade, Gariahat-Esplanade and Ballygunge-Tollygunge. The affidavit submitted at the court was a response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL). In the affidavit, West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC) Managing Director Rajanvir Singh Kapur stated seven routes which included Kidderpore-Esplanade, Bidhannagar-BBD Bag, Shyambazar-BBD Bag, Bidhannagar-Esplanade, Ballygunge-Esplanade, Tollygunge-Esplanade and Bidhannagar-Howrah Bridge.