Kolkata's favorite B word

Yes, my city is again entangled in the dreaded B word-Bandh. Today and tomorrow, two different political parties have decided to bring the city to a standstill. The reason? Rising prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas. The big question-will all this make any difference? Well, of course not. In the past, bandhs have not helped the common man's cause. The situation doesn't change now. It will just give the political biggies a chance to flex muscles and prove their power. For us-the hapless souls, we will have to bear the heat of the rising price index.

Bengal braces for another Bandh

Tomorrow (21 April), Kolkata would again come to a standstill owing to the 12 hour Bandh called by Mamata Banerjee, the Trinamool Supremo against rising prices of the daily commodities. I saw a poster yesterday saying "Feley rekhe bhater haanri, chortey chaina motor gaari" (loosely translated as:I don't want to ride a car when I can't have enough to eat). The agenda is a burning issue today as the past few months have seen a steep rise in day-to-day commodities so much that it's an uphill task to manage your budgets, what with the government's inefficiency to do anything meaningful to curb the rising prices. However, how crippling the state for 12 hours would be a solution to this problem is beyond my understanding. Sadly, the political leaders don't consider our plight when they mask their dubious intentions behind a politically correct subject like the present rising price index. So, the common man has nothing to do but to suffer.