HC ordes shifting of bus terminus to protect Victoria Memorial

Kolkata, Sep 28 (UNI) With a view to protect the city's landmark monument Victoria Memorial, Calcutta High Court today asked the West Bengal government to shift bus terminus from the Shahid Minar at Maidan within six months.

A two-judge bench, presided over by Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya, issued the interim ruling on a Public Interest Litigation(PIL) filed by environment activist Subhash Dutta.

Speaking to mediapersons here, Mr Dutta said, ''It is a welcome verdict on the long-standing demand for shifting the bus terminus from Shahid Minar, which was harming the monument immensely.

''We are happy with the order even though it was delayed,'' said Mr Dutta, who had filed the PIL in 2002, seeking the court's intervention to protect the memorial from pollution by automobiles.

The bench ruled that hotels and restaurants within two km of the monument must use LPG otherwise they would be forced to shut down.

The court also ruled that no new construction be carried out in the Victoria Memorial complex as proposed by the state government to build a new office for better functioning of the monument.

Justice Bhattacharya expressed concern over the decay of white marble used in building the monument due to smoke emitted from automobiles and observed that more trees should be planted in its vicinity to protect it from pollution.

UNI