Cyclone AMPHAN- Observations of an Architect

Shashank Shahabadi, Principal Architect, Eastside Office   In Kolkata -  In a coffee shop, on a dusty lane and in a dusty old city, the blue headed olancooter sat with an architect of sorts to plan the downfall of the local rajah. The rajah had done the unspeakable. He had painted the town with his favourite colours, red white and blue, and "this was sacrilege" said the architect. He said that the final stop was the lamps. I almost got killed by a bus while I was thinking of Corbusier. This cannot be! Off with his head I say. Coming back to reality; I woke up from my dream to go to my sister's to deliver some food that my mom had made for her as being out of electricity, they had almost run out of food too. So while driving from central Calcutta to Howrah (West kolkata) and coming back I noticed the devastation The Cyclone AMPHAN had left behind. Coming from a typical architecture school the mind runs in analysing the observations which are the following:  

1. Few trucks and buses were stuck on the decayed roads. In Calcutta, we build the new layer of roads on top of the older ones without removing the bottom layers. This puts a lot of pressure on the soil bed below and increases the road height compared to the pavements and nearby buildings. This is the primary reason for the fall of the Majerhat bridge last year and couldn't take the pressure of the extra weight.

 

2. Transformer - Isn't it weird that we find transformers on top of two concrete poles on the foot paths? Due to this, the high voltage electricity is left exposed very close to the buildings. Did we forget that we need to plan cities with services like electricity, water, fire, cables, sewage?

 

3. Unnecessary poles along the footpath - 1 each for camera, street light and the infamous three murti light and pole for signage, all next to each other, barely at a feet's distance. An alternative for this could be a better planned design where all of this could be clubbed on one pole. Removing unnecessary elements from the streets will also make it look cleaner and less cluttered.

 

4. To make matters worse, advertisement boards on metal sticks fell almost everywhere. It's time we indulged less and less in print media and if not so then gave a proper designated space to these.

 

5. The led strip lights that are wrapped around the poles and are literally everywhere are a nuisance during normal days. It is a waste of public money and these are so bright that people can barely see the roads. Moreover it disturbs the birds and is a constant distraction.

 

6. Now the ugliest part is the cables and wires. They have made a mess of the city by bundling up in 1000's of coils around every pole. Basically a bush of pubic hair around every pole you find. They have made the matter worse as a lot of poles that had not actually fallen, fell as a result of being attached to one another and the tree branches had also got stuck in between . They made the rescue efforts difficult and also exposed how bad the infrastructure planning is. As a result of this most people lost the internet.

 

7. Now Bengal, Orissa and Bangladesh are highly vulnerable to cyclones and strong winds. However we haven't learned from history. We keep making temporary structures letting our tin roofs fly off. Cheap signages of the retail spaces are not anchored well and we have a weird obsession with glass. We put long glass railings, all of which couldn't survive winds up to the speed of 130kms.
8. Now trees suffered the most not because of the cyclone but because of the poor city planning. Trees are unable to grow below the soil level as they are barely given space being surrounded by brick or concrete walls with hundreds of wires and pipe lines underneath. Large trees with shallow roots cannot survive even the lower intensity winds. The roots need space to grow. Moreover planting several large trees and not trimming the branches from time to time has added to the chaos. Tree planting has to be done carefully and should be done by experts as it poses a risk to life and infrastructure. The uprooting of trees has also exposed a network of ill planned wires underneath it and a heap of cobbled stone and concrete over the root layer. Not just that the footpath railings in most cases over installed on the root area of these trees. The Next day I saw the KMC had started chopping the trees whereas a lot of them could still be replanted. We have to be friends with nature and let biodiversity thrive.

 

9. The same evening my carpenter called. His name is Utpal and he lived near the Sunderbans. His house was completely destroyed. He lost his poultry and rice cutting machine. His land is useless now as the salty sea water made its way into it. He along with his 5 member family are waiting on the highway with a plastic sheet over their head and no food to eat. As I somehow managed to transfer some money to him, he is making his journey to the city. And this when I realised how vulnerable the rural areas are and how much pressure the city will have, adding newer slums and sharing the already depleted resources. I am no one to suggest whether he should come or not but just a thought that our rural infrastructure is far behind when compared to the cities.

  The day ended going back to sleep with a lingering thought in mind. Calcutta every few months paints the city blue and white and every year keeps making the same roads again and again. Can we make longer lasting roads that can survive if not a lifetime but a decade at least? Off to bed!! Maybe I'm blessed to be in this exciting city. With all its fault, Calcutta is beautiful. Its rich architecture stands the test of time. Even high winds would not topple a hinge of this brick structure. I'll dream of restoring the city to its glorious past with not so jarring colours.