Kolkata: Observing that trams are a part of the cultural ethos of Kolkata, the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday directed that tram tracks which were illegally bituminised in the city be restored.No other city in India operates these electric cars, the court said. Hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking that tram services, which are unique to Kolkata in the whole country, be continued and restored in places where these have been discontinued, the court said there should be a political will to preserve the cultural heritage and ethos of the city.”There should be a political will to preserve the cultural heritage and ethos of the city of Kolkata,” a division bench presided by Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam observed. The division bench, also comprising Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya, directed that the tram tracks which were illegally bituminised be restored.The court directed the Kolkata Police to conduct an inquiry into the complaints of bituminisation of the tram tracks and identify those who had done so. The court had earlier directed that there should not be bituminisation of the tram tracks, but two complaints were filed with the Kolkata Police alleging that this has been done in some places.The bench said that it is hard to believe that the miscreants would have indulged in such an act without the “blessings of the appropriate authorities.”The court directed that a report on compliance be filed before it along with supporting photographs within four weeks, after which the matter would be heard again. “Closing down the tram services is an easy task, but nonetheless the respondent, being a welfare state, should also bear in mind to preserve the cultural heritage of the city of Kolkata,” the bench observed.The bench further said that when the West Bengal government has formed a separate wing to preserve the heritage buildings in the metropolis, it fails to understand why such a thought process is not happening so far as trams are concerned.The court said that there are other countries where trams are operated, including Switzerland and identically, as in Kolkata, these tram tracks also pass through the middle of the roads there.The bench noted that this was cited as one of the reasons by the Kolkata Police that it is resulting in accidents and that this stand was reiterated by the state’s Advocate General during his pleadings.
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