I agree to all of you when you say we ruined ourselves between 60's to 80's. I think we have to take collective responsibility as Bengalis for what has happened. But things are changing. I have had opportunity of working in Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad and trust me the generation here (at least in Kolkata) is equally motivated and hardworking as others. What we need now is strong leadership at the top to move forward. Everyone must understand that it takes time to change and heal.
Industrialization is need of the hour for all of us. We have to be judgemental about how much land has to be used for industrialization and how the society benefits out of that project. I hear lot of people talking about taking barren land or take land from closed manufacturing units. Historically, if you analyze you%u2019ll see except for industries based on raw mining materials are located around river bed or around sea shores. All jute mills of Calcutta are located at the banks of Hooghly River. All closed down units have huge defaults with banks and creditors and also to their labourers and hence it is next to impossible to acquire those.
There are quite a few furores about acquiring agricultural lands. If you have ever lived in Calcutta and you%u2019ll know that all its suburbs are well known agricultural lands (e.g., Kasba which means a village of wealth). So its not just Govt. is acquiring agricultural land, the farmers are also selling lands whenever they are well paid. Even now you can visit Bhangar (from Science City towards Kasba take left turn) any Sunday morning and you%u2019ll see scores of dalal%u2019s thronging the area for quick cash.
Singur is an example that shows Govt. right path it should take in future course. Industries are coming and land acquisition is inevitable. Left Front as a farmer friendly Govt. must rise to the occasion to fulfil the dream it has sold to its million of voters in last election.
