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City Profile: Kolkata

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Introduction
Entering the XXI century, India faced serious environmental problems. Over the past
decades, India has become one of the most unfavorable places to live on the planet. The country
ranks third in terms of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere, and the situation is getting
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worse every year. The history of India in recent decades is an instructive illustration of how a
country can sacrifice its nature to economic and demographic growth, launching a vicious circle of
environmental degradation, out of which it becomes more difficult every year. The worst situation
is with air pollution: according to this indicator, India is one of the last places in the world, and the
situation is only getting worse every year. One of the largest cities in India that has been affected by
pollution and other problems is Kolkata (Calcutta), the capital of the state of West Bengal and the
former capital of British India. It is one of the largest cities in India and one of its major ports. The
city is located on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, once the main channel of the Ganga River,
about 96 miles upstream from the source of the Bay of Bengal; here the port city developed as a
transshipment point from water to land and from river to sea. Despite the fact that Kolkata is a city
of commerce, transport and manufacturing and is the dominant urban center of eastern India, there
are problems of overpopulation and ecology in the city. This essay will address the contemporary
problems of Kolkata.
Brief city profile
This large and dynamic Indian city is thriving amid seemingly insurmountable economic,
social and political challenges. Its citizens demonstrate great cheerfulness, which is manifested in a
penchant for art and culture, as well as a high level of intellectual vitality and political
awareness. Crowds of people gather for book fairs, art exhibitions and concerts in Kolkata, and
there is a lively debate on the walls, as a result of which Kolkata is called the “city of posters”.
The location of the city seems to have been initially chosen partly because of its easily
defensible position, and partly because of its advantageous trading position. The low, swampy, hot
and humid riverbank otherwise has little to recommend. Its maximum height is about 30 feet (9
meters) above sea level. To the east of the river, the land descends to the marshes. A similar
topography on the west bank of the river limited the capital territory mainly to a strip 3 to 5 miles
wide on each bank of the river (Weiss, 2016). However, the reclamation of the Salt Lake territory
on the northeastern outskirts of the city demonstrated that spatial expansion of the city is possible,
and further reclamation projects were undertaken to the east, south and west of the central part.
History of Calcutta
The history of Calcutta began in 1686, when the English entrepreneur Job Charnock came to
the quiet village of Kalikatu, which had existed in the delta of the Ganga River since time
immemorial. Deciding that this place would be ideal for a new British colony, he laid here a
miniature replica of London with wide boulevards, Catholic churches and picturesque gardens
squeezed into strict geometric shapes (Das, 2016). However, the beautiful fairy tale quickly ended
on the outskirts of the newly minted city, where Hindus serving the British lived in crowded slums.
The first blow to Calcutta was struck in 1756, when it was conquered by the nawab of
neighboring Murshidabad (Das, 2016, p. 58). However, after a long fierce struggle, the city was not
only returned to the British, but also turned into the official capital of British India. In the following
years, the fate of Calcutta developed in different ways - it was going through a new round of its
development, then it was in complete discord and desolation. The civil war for independence and
the unification of West and East Bengal did not bypass this city either. However, after these events,
the British quickly moved the colonial capital to Delhi, depriving Calcutta of political power and
seriously affecting its economy. However, even then the city managed to get out of the financial
crisis and regain its former position.
In the early 2000s, Calcutta received not only another name - Kolkata, but also a new
administration, characterized by a more friendly attitude to business (Dutta, 2003). In this regard,
numerous hotels, shopping, business and entertainment centers, catering establishments, residential
high-rises and other infrastructure elements began to appear on its streets.
Kolkata’s economy has overcome long-term stagnation and has also begun to develop
dynamically since the early 1990s and is currently one of the fastest growing in the country. It is
noteworthy that successful market reforms took place in a state headed for over three decades by the
communist government. The liberalization of the Indian economy in the 1990s played a particularly
important role in improving the condition of Kolkata (Chaudhuri, 2013). Even today, flexible
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manufacturing is a feature of Kolkata’s economy. Thus, the domestic sector accounts for 40% of the
total workforce. For example, as of 2005, the total volume of street vendors trading on footpaths
was estimated at 7.82 billion Indian rupees (Chaudhuri, 2013, p. 43). One of the largest working
forces of the city are employees of the state and the central government. The city also has a large
number of unskilled and semi-skilled working population, including various physical and mental
labor. The IT industry has played a significant role in the economic revival of Kolkata. The growth
rate of the IT sector in this city is 70% per year, which is twice the national average (Chaudhuri,
2013, p. 57). 
Overpopulation in Kolkata and the resulting problems
Kolkata is the fourth most populous Indian metropolis. The number of residents together
with the suburbs is 14,000,000 people (Dasgupta, et al., 2013). Historically, the city has long been a
scientific, cultural and political center. The reason for the overpopulation of the city was the fact
that at the time of colonization, Kolkata was the capital of British India. The British actively
developed the jute and textile industries, built railways. Since the end of the XIX century, the area
began to grow rapidly. The British government employed Indians from the upper castes to work in
administrative positions. A new stage of economic recovery in Kolkata began in the 90s of the last
century (Dasgupta, et al., 2013, p. 749). Information technologies began to develop in the city. In
addition, there are many industrial enterprises in the machine-building, textile, pharmaceutical
industries in Kolkata. The city also has a highly developed financial sector. Kolkata is also the
largest seaport.
This attracts a huge number of people going to Kolkata to work from neighboring states. For
this reason, the transport system of the metropolis is overloaded. There is an acute problem of lack
of highways in the city, which creates many kilometers of traffic jams. All this despite the fact that
Kolkata is surrounded by a network of railways, there are bus, tram lines, metro in the city.
Overpopulation is the reason that a huge part of the inhabitants are forced to live in slums
(1,500,000 people) - these are densely built-up neighborhoods located along city canals and roads
(Bhatta, 2009). Slum dwellers are unable to use water supply, sewerage, and do not receive medical
care. Some people live right on the street, spreading blankets on the sidewalk for the night. They
wash in the river, eat out of garbage cans. Poverty is the natural state of many people who spend
their whole lives like this. The streets are very dirty, there are piles of garbage everywhere. The air
is also heavily polluted by exhaust fumes from cars.
Due to the overpopulation of Kolkata, an environmental catastrophe is looming in the city.
Air pollution standards for certain parameters, the most harmful to humans, are exceeded in winter,
at the peak of smog, by 18 times (Dey, Samaddar and Sen, 2016).
In summer, during the most environmentally “favorable” period, the air is only four times
dirtier than the upper threshold of the norm. The city’s infrastructure cannot cope with the influx of
people, and this situation is typical for all growing Indian cities. When the Belgian king came to
Kolkata not so long ago, Indian Prime Minister Modi offered him a walk around the capital, but the
European monarch refused, as he did not consider it possible to go outside with such air pollution
(Mukherjee, 2015).
One of the many reasons for the deteriorating ecology is traffic jams. Kolkata is famous for
its congestion all over India. About 14 million people live in the city, originally designed for 50
thousand adult residents. The situation in Delhi and Mumbai is not much better, and even in the
small tourist cities of Agra and Jaipur, the road situation is also difficult (Huque, Pattanaik and
Parthasarathy, 2020).
It is difficult to say whether the government’s measures to improve the environmental
situation have any effect. The last time Modi told the world community at a forum in Davos how
India is going to solve environmental problems, but so far the situation is only getting worse
(Mukherjee, 2015, p. 136).
Nevertheless, despite the fact that Kolkata is a large industrial city, life in West Bengal is
still agrarian in spirit and in its way. Therefore, in the state of West Bengal, if urbanization fails, it
makes sense to engage in agriculture and create conditions for a normal life in rural conditions,
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including the mechanism of social elevators through startups in the agricultural industry and social
development programs.
Environmental situation in Kolkata
As already mentioned, Kolkata has a reputation for being poor, polluted, unsanitary and in
complete decline from the point of view of urban planning. However, the reality is much more
complicated. The existence of poverty and pollution cannot be disputed, although the latter is
mainly due to motorized transport. Nevertheless, Kolkata also has such efficient transportation,
waste recycling and food production systems that shame the developed world. Transport here
functions mainly through the use of human energy and other traditional non-motorized means
(Pakrashi, 2021). Dependence on fossil fuels is low; the vast majority of Kolkata residents live very
close to what they need. As a result, they produce very few greenhouse gases.
A metropolis with its 14 million inhabitants is a special case, but there is nothing
exceptional about its problems (Bhattacharyya, 2018). It is extremely important to understand that
developing countries are currently moving from the stage of relative viability to the stage of
uncontrolled instability. This phenomenon is explained, among other things, by the attitude of the
middle class, which hopes to reap the benefits of prosperity. This is also due to the activities of the
World Bank, automakers and the deregulation of the economy. Investment opportunities in the
expanding infrastructure sector, as well as the growing demand for fossil fuels, are leading to an
increase in economic activity and the marginalization of millions of disadvantaged people.
Mukherjee and Chakraborty (2016) showed how generous investments in road construction
contributed to the growth of expropriation and poverty. On the other hand, Tanzania has proven that
investments in non-motorized transport can significantly limit rural poverty and increase
agricultural production. A detailed study of the layout area highlights how investing in the purchase
of donkeys and bicycles can bring significant profits.
The example of Kolkata is a landmark in the issues of sustainable development and
transport. Imagine what it’s like to live next to a diesel generator 24 hours a day. The associated
noise and air pollution levels will be extreme. However, this is an everyday reality in Kolkata,
where about 500,000 cars spew clouds of black poisonous smoke, drag along congested arteries and
constantly block trams and buses (Mukherjee and Chakraborty, 2016, p. 84).
Transport infrastructure of the city
Kolkata is, in fact, a pedestrian city where everything is easily accessible. Most locals make
all trips on foot, and when they do not walk, they turn to the ubiquitous rickshaws - on wheels or,
according to the local specialty, with manual drive. People need to take just a few steps to find
hundreds of shops, businesses, schools. The problem is that the living conditions of those who do
everything on foot or in vehicles using human energy are disgusting. But Kolkata is also proud of
large parks and green spaces, reservoirs, a rich architectural heritage and an efficient tram and
metro system. Perhaps this is not surprising, but this system is under threat. American consultants
managed to convince the government of the state of West Bengal that it is overloaded and is a
source of congestion. At the same time, Japanese consultants skillfully convinced the same
government that to increase the capacity of roads, it would be necessary to build six new slides
worth almost 50 million pounds (Zope et al., 2019). There is nothing in Kolkata that can help
pedestrians, cyclists and rickshaw users. The pedestrian environment is extremely dangerous, and
almost 1,000 pedestrians pay for it with their lives every year. The sidewalks are in very poor
condition and littered with garbage. Sometimes people gather there whose house - the street - is the
only one.
The capital of Bengal today faces the choice of Cornelian. Under the pressure of the
developed world and its own demands for internal growth, it tends to condemn public transport in
favor of motorization. Water slides will make life even more impossible for those who live nearby
(more than 250,000 people), and for everyone who wants to walk or use trams and bicycles. The
state government has made a tragic decision to ban this rickshaw center, which has caused concern
among the poorest who receive their income from this activity (Sarkar and Tagore, 2011).
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Currently, developed countries have begun a massive transformation of developing
countries, which reminds of the irresponsibility of multinational tobacco and pharmaceutical
companies. In places like Kolkata, which is no exception, there is a marginalization of existing
viable technologies and their replacement with something that may not work in the long run without
causing catastrophic damage earlier.
Conclusion
The growing population of Kolkata allows you to worry about the ecological situation in the
city. People from the suburbs tend to move to the city in order to qualitatively change their lifestyle.
They go for new opportunities, an increase in wealth, an expansion of the communication
environment, a good education. However, more often than not, large Indian cities turn out to be a
big illusion, and visitors from the provinces find themselves in much worse conditions than before.
Since the influx of population is not controlled and social housing programs do not keep up with the
growth of cities, people live in slums or simply in poor overpopulated areas. At the moment,
Kolkata ranks fourth in Asia in the ranking of countries with the largest population. As a result,
even people with high incomes cannot provide themselves with a decent life in the city. Money
does not solve the problem of ecology for a single family. Thus, the problem of overpopulation of
the city seriously affects the ecological situation of Kolkata. It is obvious that in order to create an
effective mechanism to combat the global environmental problem and virtually any other global
environmental problem, the participation of the authorities is extremely necessary. Eco-policy,
development priorities and national environmental concepts are the most important priority at the
moment.

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