A disfunctional Tuesday in Kolkata

Its Tuesday morning and this is what I saw when I looked down the otherwise busy street through my window. Everyone is too scared to go out. No, its not last evening's rain that was actually quite a relief from the heat. It is what we refer to, as a Bandh(strike). This time it has been called on for 12 hours all over India. Its obviously a political strike and hence as usual the civilians suffer.

People who survive on daily wages are losing a day's wage. The whole country is losing on trade and there is an approximate loss of over Rs.700 crores.People are stuck in airports stations and even inside trains because of this nuisance called strike.Toilets are locked down in the city airport and people cannot even practice their basic human right. Private or public transport has been stalled and party people(not the night club and disco party people) are rallying down the streets to show their importance .

Unfortunately,all that I can see is the loss.Its not helping anyone or any idea at all.Strikes should be banned in India.But then people will say that strikes are the basic rights of a democratic republican country but where the basic survival rights have been taken away from the civilians democracy can only be a myth.

While political parties quarrel, we the people suffer and cannot do much about it.During elections it feels like choosing between a thief and a robber to reign over us because no one is straight(all sorts of puns intended).So, here I am, writing about Kolkata's piece of suffering in the strike instead of the happiest of times that Kolkata celebrated last evening for the rain after the scorching heat of Summer and the daily fight in sweat and humidity.