Devendra Khurana, Bhopal Central Chronicle, November 21, 2006
[Shame about the Gas Tragedy, let’s have some cricket, seems to be the summary of this bizarre piece, Ed]
Bhopal is a city that has contrasting shades. On the one hand, one can find tree lined avenues and greenery and on the other one can feel that the gas tragedy of 1984 still haunts and lingers. One can find that there are people who haven’t recovered from the toxic gas that leaked in 1984. Coming back to the present, one can also find that the city is developing well and the benefits of economic liberalisation can be seen.
But, one can see that Bhopal hasn’t hosted many international events in sports and as a result Bhopal hasn’t hosted many prominent international players in disciplines as tennis, badminton, golf. Providing infrastructure for these events would give Bhopal a much-needed facelift and then Bhopal can then be on its way to become a truly international city.
Bhopal conjures up an image of being a city that can be renovated, beautified and developed in many ways. The impression one gets of the city is that it is neither ill planned nor exquisitely planned. But, having said so, Bhopal has developed into a fine city and stands on the threshold of modernity. Bhopal has a distinct charm, the charm of well laid out parks and gardens and flowers in full bloom. A visitor to Bhopal can be taken by surprise by lovely roads and tree lined avenues. But, some pockets of Bhopal are still congested. Scruffy and scuzzy by-lanes and streets should be renovated and spruced up. Bhopal has makings of a beautiful and a clean city. Therefore, we must try to focus whether air pollution in the city is under control. Alcohol fuels, hydrogen fuels and City diesel should be used as alternate fuels. This would help reduce our dependence on petrol which is fast depleting. Also, vehicles with low fuel consumption should be introduced in the city.
Frequent tree plantation drives have changed the landscape of Bhopal and Bhopal now appears more verdant and green. Suburbs of Bhopal should be developed adequately to give fillip to tourism industry.
Bhopal has never hosted an international Test match or a one-day international in cricket and as a result people have to be satisfy their thirst by watching cricket on Television and moreover Bhopal does not get to watch top national and international cricketers in action, this leaves a big vacuum for cricket lovers. Hence, Bhopal should make efforts to find a place on the international cricket map as well. This would promote a vibrant sporting culture in the city.
A long standing problem is of garbage which lies scattered at various places in the city. Big garbage-bins should be placed at various places to get over this problem. Also, another long standing problem is that roads are in not in the best of condition at various places in the city and since roads are an important index of development, roads need to be laid at various places to ensure a smooth flow of traffic.
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