I remember when I took this picture... my day was off to a bad start and I was feeling a bit down, or perhaps disappointed with the turn my Jamaica trip was taking.

I had come to love this country so much so I didn't want any negative sentiments to come in the way.

Anyway- to get my mind off things, I decide to go check out a farmer's market nearby... I walk past every stand until I land on this small one where there were a few papayas and coconuts on sale.

I don't know why, but I like the vibe that this stand is giving off. I decide to stick around for a little longer, hoping to make some conversation with the lady who runs the stand. She's probably wondering what's up in my head too (Im taking way too long to choose a papaya!) and so that's how our conversation starts.

I tell her I've had a so-so day and she tells me "We all have rough moments in our lives...they pass and they help us become stronger. Let me tell you a little something: I lived in England for many years when I was your age". That then follows with a minute of silence... Im not quite sure how to interpret it, but I can read between the lines.

Her name is Cherry. When she speaks, she has a child-like twinkle in the eyes but something tells me she's a very strong woman. Cherry used to be a retired nurse. Her husband is ill, and he can't leave home much... Nonetheless, it's important for her to come sell her produce at the market once a week. She tells me its her outing and keeps her from "brooding at home". Her "specialties" are papayas, coconuts & bananas. On that day I guess she had a surplus of papayas to sell Her friendly attitude came at the right moment, wiping out the less pleasant morning I had. That is one reason I love Jamaica: it has a seesaw effect... when something bad happens, minutes later it is counterbalanced with a person or an event that makes you fall in love with the island all over again.

As a sign of respect, the couple will usually kneel before their elders when presenting tea to them. Nowadays, some are allowed to simply bow when serving the drink. The basic sentiment behind this ceremony is gratitude. The couple are thankful to the parents who took care of them until the day of their marriage, and reassures them in this symbolic gesture that they too will continue to take care of their parents after their marriage. The complete ceremony includes serving tea to grandparents and any senior relatives like aunties and uncles as a show of respect, although some choose to simplify it by serving only their parents. The couple will get red pack or gold jewellery from the elders as their wedding gifts.

We live in an unfair world. Nothing seems fair or equitable right from the time we are born. The great English writer Charles Dickens summed up this sentiment well in one of his novels. “In the little world in which children have their existence whosoever brings them up, there is nothing so finely perceived and so finely felt, as injustice. It may be only small injustice that the child can be exposed to; but the child is small, and its world is small —.” Dickens would also say: “The sum of the whole is this: walk and be happy; walk and be healthy. The best way to lengthen out our days is to walk steadily and with a purpose.” In saying so, he was telescoping what physicians and public health practitioners would be saying a century and a half after his death. In one of his most famous speeches the legendary human rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. remarked, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” A couple of years before his assassination, he had remarked, “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.” King was, in effect, eloquently reminding the world of the raison d’etre for the creation of the World Health Organization on April 7, 1948 with a strong affirmation that the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being.

Winston Churchill was a war time Prime Minister of Britain. At the height of the World War II when bombardment of London was the norm and his aides were painting a doomsday scenario, Churchill asked, “Are the courts functioning?” and when informed in the affirmative he said, “then nothing can go wrong.” At another point he would remark,“Healthy citizens are the greatest asset any country can have.” Here was a man whose country was facing an existential threat, yet the considerations of justice and health apparently weighed more on his mind than the might of his arsenals. Dickens, King and Churchill were three very different stalwarts with hardly any shared interests, yet they were saying the same things.

Scores of years later, both Health and Justice figure prominently among the 17 Sustainable Development Goals to be achieved by 2030 by all the United Nations’ member states. What is more, public health and human rights are mutually reinforcing forces, inextricably linked to each other. Global Health and Public Health aim to bridge the differences or inequities in the health status of men, women and children due to considerations of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition.

As we observe World Health Day today with the theme – ‘Building a fairer, healthier world’, we are all the more conscious than ever of the health inequities confronted globally. And no, not even the major world powers, can claim to be devoid of them as some of them have been the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has thoroughly exposed their lack of preparedness and overwhelming their relatively strong health systems in relation to the developing world. What is more disparaging, however, is the scramble for vaccines against the pandemic by the rich nations at the cost of the poorer ones.

In Pakistan that has quite sub-optimal health and demographic indicators with a growing disparity between the privileged and under-privileged classes, a shrinking middle class and millions more on the brink of falling down the poverty line due to catastrophic health expenditures, it is all the more important to emphasize the health and human rights nexus. When we examine some of the causes of health inequities the foremost among them are social determinants of health such as income poverty, unemployment, lack of basic education, particularly in rural females, gender and human rights issues, an almost unchecked population growth, lack of road safety, low coverage of essential services such as safe water and sanitation, rapid urbanization with urban slums, inadequate though expanding measures for social protection, and a high prevalence of natural and manmade disasters.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on certain priority health problems such as the silent pandemic of tuberculosis, maternal and child health, nutrition and immunization. Some time ago, a seminar was held in Islamabad with the support of the Stop TB Partnership advocating the accessing of TB care services as an inalienable human right. Celebrities were engaged at Stop TB ambassadors to promote civil society engagement

There is also a growing realization that implementing a Tuberculosis control program involves all tiers of the health system including the community level and can strongly complement efforts toward attaining universal health care. Meanwhile, WHO was asked by the United Nation’s high level meeting held in 2018 to assist countries in developing a multi-sectoral accountability framework involving all sectors as a prerequisite to better End-TB outcomes.

It is therefore imperative to conduct intersectoral planning and action involving the government and other stakeholders to proactively address social determinants and health inequities. Intersectoral action needs to be promoted as an integral and vital component of the national health planning process. Without intersectoral action as a fully integrated component embedded in the national health planning process, health inequities are likely to persist, imperiling the health of Pakistan’s population.

It is also important to sensitize policymakers on the concepts of inequality and inequity in health, measuring equity, and development of the strategies designed to effectively address health inequities. Incidentally it was the celebrated economist and Finance Minister of Pakistan the late Dr Mahbubul Haq who is said to have given the world the concept of Human Development Index by merging three critical measure of well-being namely per capita income, longevity, and literacy. Equity is often considered as synonymous with social justice or fairness, and is an ethical concept grounded in the principles of distributive justice. It also denotes the absence of socially unjust or unfair health disparities.

Underlying social deprivation can be in relation to wealth, power or prestige – attributes that define how people are grouped in social hierarchies. A disproportionate number of poor citizens in Pakistan do not have adequate access to health care. Health inequities can also result from geographical, gender, ethnic, social, political, cultural or linguistic disparities.

Rapid urbanization in Pakistan also has grave implications for health warranting the need for meticulous planning. Even the hitherto fore planned capital city of Islamabad, with an annual population growth of 5%, is beginning to suffer from unplanned growth with the quality of life in its urban slums being miserable and much worse than those living in peripheral rural areas. Increasing urbanization gives rise to a unique set of health challenges, including non-communicable and infectious diseases, air pollution, access to water and sanitation, the need to improve nutrition, increased physical activity, and building resilience to health emergencies.

The implementation of human rights also necessitates a cross-sectoral approach that increases synergy amongst the various sectors relevant to promote health and development and avoid fragmented interventions. This is also necessary to fulfil an internationally agreed set of principles and norms that are contained in treaties, conventions, declarations, resolutions, guidelines, and recommendations at the international and regional levels.

Pakistan has to be very proactive in ending gender discrimination, such as denying girls and women access to education, information, and various forms of economic, social and political participation, as this can significantly increase health risks. Attention to human rights also brings into focus less popular vulnerable groups like prisoners, miners, migrants, refugees and substance abusers where some interventions have been carried out by the TB and HIV/AIDS control mechanisms.

Education and information can promote understanding, respect, tolerance and non-discrimination in relation to persons with Tuberculosis and other communicable and non-communicable diseases with which some stigma is attached. Public programming explicitly designed to reduce the stigma by challenging beliefs based on ignorance and prejudice has been shown to help create a more tolerant and understanding supportive environment.

Within the Health Sector, the negligible efforts demonstrated to prevent and control noncommunicable diseases is intriguing as it has been an integral part of public policy in Pakistan ever since 2004. We can start by establishing population based cancer registries to inform the establishment of cancer control programs, while taking effective measures for diabetes control, institutionalizing preventive cardiology in health programs while containing chronic respiratory diseases. All these diseases make up the larger part of the disease burden spectrum and are responsible for a lot of excess and premature mortality across the country, disproportionately affecting women and marginalized population segments.

While the current drive of the government to provide health cards to the people in certain pilot districts is highly laudable as an interim poverty reduction measure, it can be sustained and institutionalized by implementing mandatory health insurance in the country through premiums or co-payments in which the rich can cross-subsidize the poor, while those in good health can cross-subsidize those in ill health. Other social safety nets such as Zakat, Baitul Maal and other interventions under the Ehsaas program need to be enhanced in an effort to strengthen the middle class to promote food security and avoid catastrophic health costs till such time as the economy can stand on a firm footing. Good governance is of essence to the whole exercise encompassing affirmative action in enhancing health allocations to a respectable level in keeping with government policy and must be regarded as an investment in the future.

Everything said and done, the need for maintaining peace and tolerance cannot be over-emphasized if the social sectors including Health have to prosper in Pakistan to the immense benefit of not only our country but the region as a whole. Emotive rhetoric has distracted us from our main goals for too long, let us now be guided by Mr. Jinnah who stated in unequivocal terms: “Our object should be peace within and peace without. We want to live peacefully and maintain cordial friendly relations with our immediate neighbours and with the world at large.” No advice can serve us better in building a fairer and healthier country with justice for all.

The author is a senior public health and public policy specialist of Pakistan and can be reached at gnkaziumkc @gmail.com

Todos os dias tento entender

o que se passa cabeça a dentro,

pois sem ao menos nos conhecer

tentamos deixar a todos em contento.

Crianças felizes e conjuges satisfeitos

é a missão do ser humano de bem,

mesmo que para isso o que for feito

não nos faça assim tão bem.

Doces palavras e sinceros afagos

distribuídos sem motivo ou pudor,

simplesmente não são valorizados

ao menor sinal de rancor.

Pensamos então se vale a pena

tanto esforço para a felicidade alheia,

se no fundo da nossa cabeça pequena

a única sensação é infeliz e feia.

Mas quando vemos o sorriso

sorriso verdadeiro e sincero,

nada mais importa do que isso

pois todo esforço foi válido e belo.

ablognamedhero.blogspot.com.es/2014/05/sentiments.html

Projeto de Natalie Bird

Sentiment from Hero Arts, all other images are from Simon Says Stamps, inks are from Studio Calico

...anybody NOT clear on the concept?

I tea-dyed the tag (my first time to try this), stamped the Envelope Pattern and the Flower Trio to make a Tag Birthday card. Stamped the Envelope Pattern and sentiment on the circle. Sprayed tag and sentiment with Gold-Glimmer Mist. Clear embossed the Envelope Pattern on the black card base.

Thanks for looking!

All stamps Hero Arts.

K5373-Flower Trio

S5507-Envelope Pattern

CL181-Messages

Black Hug Snug Seam Binding

Black Rhinestones

Black Pinstripe Paper (DCWV)

By Marco Wence. www.flickr.com/photos/marcowence/

Solidão não é a falta de gente para conversar,

namorar, passear ou fazer sexo... isto é carência.

Solidão não é o sentimento que experimentamos

pela ausência de entes queridos que não

podem mais voltar... isto é saudade.

Solidão não é o retiro voluntário que a

gente se impõe às vezes, para realinhar

os pensamentos... isto é equilíbrio.

Tampouco é o claustro involuntário que o

destino nos impõe compulsoriamente,

para que revejamos a nossa vida... isto é um princípio da natureza.

Solidão não é o vazio de gente ao nosso lado... isto é circunstância.

Solidão é muito mais que isto.

Solidão é quando nos perdemos de nós

mesmos e procuramos em vão, pela nossa alma.

Quanto a noi, ciascuno scavi profondamente fino alla radice dell'errore, che è dentro di lui e lo divelga dal suo cuore fino alla radice. Ed esso invero sarà divelto, quando noi lo riconosceremo. Che se noi siamo ignoranti a suo riguardo, esso affonda in noi le radici e produce i suoi frutti nei nostri cuori. Esso domina su di noi, e noi siamo suoi schiavi. Ci tiene prigionieri, cosicché noi facciamo ció che non vogliamo, e ciò che vogliamo non lo facciamo. Esso è potente perché noi non lo conosciamo, e finché esiste, esso lavora. L'ignoranza è per noi la madre dell'errore. (Vangelo secondo Filippo)

The winds of change...not 17 years ago it was "RUSKIES GO HOME" now it's "yankees". Apparently rednecks and slaveholders can stay.

The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul. ~ G.K. Chesterton

Just as I thought, Thom showed up for an afternoon snack. I explained to him he would be sleeping inside tonight and now he's pouting. My sentiment exactly, I DON'T LIKE IKE!

Recién entregada la carta a los Reyes Magos, mucha ilusión (y algo de impaciencia, también...) :)

Sorry for the bad (dark) photo but it was a dark day today =(

Thanks for looking! =)

Stamp used:

HA #S5264

HA #K4894 (sentiment)

Orthodox Jewish families in Jacksonville when the sentiment for the creation of a traditional Jewish congregation began to crystallize. By 1901 their number had grown to forty, and they realized their dream by incorporating as the Hebrew Orthodox Congregation B’nai Israel on December 6, 1901.

By 1907, the membership of B’nai Israel had increased to seventy-five, and the congregation erected a synagogue on the corner of Jefferson and Duval Streets in the Lavilla neighborhood. The lot was purchased with a down payment of $50 and a total cost of $25,000.

In 1926, the congregation hired a rabbi ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, who introduced Conservative Judaism and the synagogue-center concept as a means of strengthening and perpetuating Judaism in our growing community. To that end, in 1927 a down payment was made on a more spacious site in Springfield, facing a park at the corner of Third and Silver Streets, while Congregation B’nai Israel assumed a new identity for itself as the Jacksonville Jewish Center.

Over the next thirty-five years, the Jacksonville Jewish Center expanded its facility to meet the needs of a growing congregation. By 1959, the impressive campus of three large buildings housed a two-story main sanctuary complete with balcony and choir lofts, a chapel, library, social hall, school, playground, auditorium/gymnasium, banquet facility, bridal lounge, meeting rooms and offices.

With an eye to the future, property at 3662 Crown Point Road in Mandarin was acquired in November, 1963. The following summer, the synagogue’s day camp moved to the new site, where a recreational park with an Olympic-size pool and playing fields had been built. Renovated and improved throughout the years, the synagogue’s summer camp and schools continue to use this facility.

Groundbreaking on the synagogue-center complex took place on September 16, 1973. On Sunday, January 11, 1976, a caravan of automobiles followed an open truck upon which Center dignitaries sat carrying our priceless Torah scrolls from the ark at Third and Silver to their new home in Mandarin. It was an historic event that culminated in a moving dedication ceremony. Over the next 30 years, our magnificent synagogue building would see many additions, improvements and renovations to keep pace with the many activities, events and celebrations of our community.

HA sentiment and shadow inks, Wplus9 fresh cut florals and dies, PTI chevron die and patterned papers.

i mean this in the best possible way, of course.

Model Vitalija

This young bun is, I'm very pleased to note, new to my usual amblings. It's too early to tell if they'll remain where I saw them, but I have seen them twice now, the second time even with a possible sibling.

Here, they're actually edging toward me, but quite uncertain about it all the same. They came surprisingly close - maybe 30' or so - given there was absolutely nothing between us but the open track, leading into a playing field.

I hope we'll be seeing much more of their activity in the future. ^_^

Projeto de Natalie Bird

Under the magnolia tree that my parents used to have in their backyard. It brings back many

warm & beautiful memories. (Best viewed on black)

Challenge from Hero Arts Stretch Your Stamps class. Background embossed in white, Cuttlebug die shapes adhered and a Hero Arts sentiment.

P1070014.jpg

I made this for my Dear Dad.

ST514-Houndstooth Background

CL582-Year Round Sentiments

Thanks for looking!

The commodore 64. The xbox of the 80s. Somewhat.

un momento, un sentimento che viene portato via dal vento

check my page www.facebook.com/sweetylanefoto/

Arirang - 2011 - Pyongyang - North Korea

Grand Mass Gymnastic and Artistic Performance

Kim Il-sung Prize Winner

Arirang is a song symbolic of the Korean nation, proud and homogenous. This song, best permeated with the national sentiments, was a team song when the north and the south formed a single team to participate in the World Table-Tennis Championship and the World Junior Football Championships. Arirang in the past that depicts the sorrow of the nation full of vicissitudes and tragedy is now turned into a song of all nation that aspires after a prosperous and reunified Korea denying present departure or division but envisaging the meeting and reunion.

How many people are separated into the north, the south and abroad!

How painful is their misery and misfortune.

So their joy of reunion will be great but all the greater will be the jubilation of national reunification. Let us all join hands for the day when the long-cherished cause of reunification is achieved and the 70 million Korean sing the song " Arirang of Reunification"

More info here:

www.flickr.com/photos/waltercallens/sets/72157627665094341/

From as young as 5 years old, citizens are selected based on skill level to serve for the Arirang Festival for many years. In most cases this will be the way of life for them until retirement.

The opening event of the two month festival are the mass games, which are famed for the huge mosaic pictures created by more than 30,000 well trained and disciplined school children, each holding up coloured cards, in an event known in the West as a card stunt, accompanied by complex and highly choreographed group routines performed by tens of thousands of gymnasts and dancers

The Kolkata tram is a tram system in Kolkata, India, run by the Calcutta Tramways Company (CTC). It is currently the only operating tram network in India and the oldest operating electric tram in Asia, running since 1902.

An attempt was made in 1873 to run a 3.9 km tramway service between Sealdah and Armenian Ghat Street on 24 February. The service was not adequately patronised, and was discontinued on 20 Nov. In 1880, the Calcutta Tramway Co. Ltd was formed and registered in London on 22 December. Metre-gauge horse-drawn tram tracks were laid from Sealdah to Armenian Ghat via Bowbazar Street, Dalhousie Square and Strand Road. The route was inaugurated by the Viceroy, Lord Ripon, on 1 November. Steam locomotives were deployed experimentally in 1882 to haul tram cars. By the end of the nineteenth century the company owned 166 tram cars, 1000 horses, seven steam locomotives and 19 miles of tram tracks. During 1900, Electrification of the tramway, and reconstruction of tracks to 1,435 mm (standard gauge) began to happen. The first electric tramcar in Asia ran in 1902 from Esplanade to Kidderpore on 27 March, and on 14 June from Esplanade to Kalighat. The Kalighat line was extended during 1903 to Tollygunge, the Esplanade line to Belgachhia (via Bidhan Sarani, Shyambazar), and the Esplanade to Shialdaha route (via Binay Badal Dinesh Bag, Rajib Gandhi Sarani and [present] Mahatma Gandhi Road) opened.

Esplanade to Bagbazar route through College Street opened in 1904. During 1905, Howrah Station to Bandhaghat route was opened to trams in June. Electrification project completed. Bowbazar Junction to Binay Badal Dinesh Bag, Ahiritola Junction to Hatibagan Junction routes opened during 1906.[citation needed] Lines to Shibpur via G.T. Road were prepared in 1908. Esplanade to Shialdaha station via Moula Ali Junction, Moula Ali Junction to Nonapukur, Wattganj Junction to J.Das Park Junction (via Alipur), Mominpur Junction to Behala routes opened. Sealdah Station to Rajabazar route opened during 1910. Mirzapur Junction to Bowbazar Junction and Shialdaha Station to Lebutala Junction routes opened during 1915. In 1920 the Strand Road Junction to High Court route opened. S.C.Mallik Square Junction to Park Circus route (via Royd Street, Nonapukur) opened during 1923. The Barhabazar Junction to Nimtala route opened in 1925. During 1928, the Kalighat to Baliganj route opened. The Park Circus line extended to Garhiahat Junction in 1930. The Rajabazar line extended to Galiff Street during 1941. The Calcutta system was well connected during 1943 with the Howrah section through the new Howrah Bridge in February. With this extension, the total track length reached 67.59 km.

During 1951, the government of West Bengal entered into an agreement with the Calcutta Tramways Company, and the Calcutta Tramways Act of 1951 was enacted. The government assumed all rights regarding the Tramways, and reserved the right to purchase the system (with two years' notice) on 1 January 1972 or any time thereafter. The Government of West Bengal passed the Calcutta Tramways Company (Taking Over of Management) Act and assumed management on 19 July 1967. On 8 November 1976 the Calcutta Tramways (Acquisition of Undertaking) ordinance was promulgated, under which the company (and its assets) united with the government. The Howrah sections were closed in October; the 1971/1973 Nimtala route was closed down in May 1973, and realignment of the Howrah Station terminus occurred. Total track length was now reduced to 61.2 km. Tram tracks on Bentinck Street and Ashutosh Mukhopadhyay Road closed during 1980 for construction of the Kolkata metro; following construction, these stretches were not reopened. Overhead wires were present until 1994 on Bentinck Street. Tracks on Jawaharlal Nehru Road remained after realignment, making a new terminus at Birla Planetarium; the Birla Planetarium route closed in 1991. An overpass was constructed on that road in 2006. The Sealdah Station terminus (along with the Sealdaha – Lebutala stretch on Bipin Bihari Gangopadhyay Street) closed for construction of an overpass in 1982. The site is now occupied by Sealdah Court and a bus terminal.[citation needed] On 17 April 1985, tracks were extended connecting Manicktola to Ultadanga via Manicktola Main road and C. I. T. Road 3.7 km. This was the first Tramways extension since 1947.

On 31 December 1986, further extension of tram tracks from Behala to Joka was completed. In 1993, the Howrah Station terminus closed and tram tracks removed on Howrah Bridge; the cantilever bridge proved too weak for trams. All routes terminated there were shortened to the Barhabazar (Howrah Bridge) terminus (formerly Barhabazar Junction). The High Court terminus closed for reconstruction of Strand Road in 1995. Rails and wires were removed from there and from Strand Road, Hare Street and Shahid Kshudiram Basu Road. The site is now occupied by the newest building of the Kolkata High Court. During 2004, the Garhiahat Depot – Garhiahat Junction link on Gariahat Road closed for construction of the Gariahat overpass. The Mominpur – Behala stretch on Diamond Harbour Road closed in 2006 for construction of an overpass at Taratala. Initially, there was a plan to route tracks on that overpass after its completion, but the road was later converted to a National Highway and the plan dismissed.

During 2007, the Wattgunge Junction – Mominpur Diamond Harbour Road, Mominpur – Jatin Das Park Judges Court Road, Jatin Das Park – Kalighat Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Road routes temporarily closed for reconstruction. The Galiff Street terminus was realigned during 2008. Irregular service from Bagbazar to Galiff Street converted to regular by Route 7/12. Rails and wires removed from part of Bidhan Sarani route (restored by end of year). The Tracks on R. G. Kar Road from Shyambazar five-point crossing to Belgatchia tram depot temporarily closed down for reconstruction during 2009. During 2011, the Joka-Behala stretch and Behala depot closed down for construction of the Joka-BBD Bag metro project while the Ballygunj-Kalighat stretch and Lalbazar-Mirjapur down line closed for reconstruction.[citation needed] On 10 October 2013, the Tollygunge-Esplanade tram route reopened after it was closed for seven years when the route was concretised.

FLEET

CTC owns 257 trams, of which 125 trams are running on the streets of Kolkata on a daily basis. The cars are single-deck articulated cars and can carry 200 passengers (60 seated).

The early horse-drawn cars were imported from England, as were the steel tram cars manufactured before 1952. Until then, most Kolkata tram cars were bought from the English Electric Company and Dick, Kerr & Co. After 1952, the cars were built in India.

ROLLING STOCK EXPERIMENTS

The introductory stock was single-coach, like other Indian cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kanpur), because the new mode of transport was experimental. Since it gained popularity quickly, another coach was attached some years later (as in Mumbai), which is now standard. Double decker trams (like Mumbai's) have never yet been used in Kolkata. Triple-coach trams were unsuccessfully tried. Single-coach trams were used on the Shibpur line until its closure in 1970.

Earlier stock was of the SLT type. It was double-coach with three doors, four wheels under each coach and no wheels between coaches. SLT trams had no front iron net, but had a front-coach trolley pole. The both-end type had a front iron net and a rear-coach trolley pole. SLTs were the first double-coach trams, introduced only on the Kolkata side of the Hooghly River (not on the Howrah side). They were gradually replaced by articulated trams on all routes. The SLC type was introduced much later on the Bandhaghat line, and continued until its closure in 1971; after that, SLC trams began running on the G/H and T/G lines on the Kolkata side. Articulated trams were in use until 1989.

TYPES OF ROLLING STOCK

- Old SLC Type – The first double-coach tram with wheels between the coaches, manufactured at the Nonapukur workshop. It is sometimes called an 'elephant car' by the CTC; its cab and back side is narrow and slightly slanted forward, like the head of an elephant without the trunk. It was introduced as a higher-speed tram with an improved engine, designed to run on express routes such as Galiff Street, Baliganj, Tollyganj, Behala and Khidirpur. It was longer than an articulated tram, and was the first tram with a cab door. Although now fewer in number, SLC trams are still running (mainly on south Kolkata routes). One tram was modified with glass in front, and another with many lighted signs (making it resemble a moving billboard).

- SLC Type – This modified variation has a pivot, and is less stylish than articulated trams; it is also manufactured at Nonapukur. The only difference is that its front and back are straight, not slanted. It was also introduced as a higher-speed tram, with an improved engine, designed to run on express routes. Later, this type enjoyed more general use. "Modi-SLCs" are still in use, except on the Bidhannagar line due to its steep incline under the Kankurgatchi rail bridge. Three cars are still used as water cars.

- Articulated SLC Type – This is a slightly less-stylish variation of the articulated tram, also manufactured at Nonapukur. The only difference is that its front and back are overhanging, and narrow towards the ends. It also had an improved engine, but was suitable for local routes. Later, this type was also used on express routes. Some early cars were well-maintained, and these are also still in use.

- Renovated SLC Type – After many years of SLC and articulated trams a new type of rolling stock arrived in Kolkata, made by Burn Standard India Limited. It is stronger, heavier and faster than earlier designs. A result of the decision around 1982 to continue tram service, it changed the image of Kolkata trams. The improved stock began running throughout the city network on all routes. Some trams were partly modified with front glass; two were modified to resemble Melbourne's B-class trams, with fluorescent lights, back glass and double ends. These are the most common trams in Kolkata.

- New Cars – Before the introduction of the single-bogie tram in December 2012, this was the last new rolling stock, built by Jessop India Limited and a variation of the pivot type, introduced about 1984. Some trams were partly modified with front glass; one was modified with fluorescent lights, FM radio, digital advertising and route boards. These are the second-most-common tram in Kolkata. Three years after its introduction, the closure of Kolkata's trams was again considered by the government, so no more modern stock had been introduced.

- Single-Bogie Type – Currently this is the latest new rolling stock, one of which has been running since 24 December 2012. These trams are claimed to be faster and more maneuverable than the current double-bogie trams with the carriage being longer than the carriages in the double bogie trams. There are now plans to introduce more single-bogie trams across the city, including air-conditioned bogies, possibly replacing the double-bogie trams with the single-bogies and reopening some closed tram routes.

Recently, two trams were completely renovated to world-class standards with front and back glass, fluorescent lights, FM radio, digital display boards, slanted seats and a fibreglass ceiling. More renovated trams are planned; from 2008 to 2010 the Nonapukur workshop manufactured 19 new-look trams, of which four are in the final stages of completion. The rooftop is clear polycarbonate sheeting with a wide window space, comfortable seating and better visibility from inside and out. Nonapukur Workshop is now manufacturing new tram cars and renovating existing steel-body (BSCL) cars. Currently-manufactured tram cars in the CTC workshop now compare favorably with those of other developed countries.[citation needed] After plans for banquet/cafeteria trams and air-conditioned trams to attract commuters and foreign tourists as well as to increase revenue for the company, one single-bogie air-conditioned banquet tram has now been introduced and offers heritage tours to north Kolkata in the morning and south Kolkata in the evening. However, the AC tram received poor patronage when it was introduced, although there are plans for more AC trams in Kolkata. In addition to passenger cars, there are also rail-scrubber cars (which polish the tracks using jets of water), flat cars for goods transportation (some of which are modified from obsolete single-coach Howrah trams) and a tower-inspection car for checking wires.

FARE STRUCTURE

1st class – Rs. 5 & Rs. 6.00 (depending on distance)

(6-7 EURO-Cent)

TECHNICAL DETAILS

CARS

- Length: 19.5 m

- Width: 2.1 m

- Weight: 20 or 22 tons empty, depending on design

- Car manufacturer: England pre-1952; India post-1952. Burn Standard Company in Howrah manufactured numbers 207 to 299 from 1982. In 1986 some were manufactured by Jessop. 684 to 700 were operational, but only 170 operated before 2013. As of 2013, 257 trams are operational with 125 trams operating.

- Length: 17.5 m

- Seating: 60 per car

- Speed: 60 km/h (max); avg speed: 30 km/h

- Controller: Three types – Cam (manufactured in London), GEC (manufactured in England) and Fuji (manufactured in Japan). Fuji is the most modern.

- Traction motor: Four types: TDK, Mitsubishi, Fuji and Bhel. EE-made traction motors are still in use – for example, 133A and 309/1B.

- Propulsion: Traction motor pinion, directly coupled via pinion-and-gear mechanism with drive wheel

- Track gauge: Standard gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)

- Brakes: Pneumatic type through air compressor (DC 550V)

- Voltage: 550 volts DC in overhead wires.

- No vestibule or door shutter

- Single-ended car

- Current drawn by trolley pole

DEPOTS & TERMINALS

There are seven tram depots – Belgachhia, Rajabazar, Park Circus, Gariahat, Tollygunge, Kalighat and Kidderpur; nine terminals – Shyambazar, Galiff Street, Bidhannagar, Ballygunge, Esplanade, B. B. D. Bagh, and Howrah Bridge; and one workshop at Nonapukur. Rajabazar and Tollygunge depots are the largest in terms of tracks and area, respectively. Kidderpur depot is the oldest, and Kalighat the smallest. The Esplanade terminus has the most tram routes.

ALIGNMENT & INTERCHANGES

- While almost all routes are on-street running, the tram runs on reserved track across the Maidan between Esplanade and Kidderpore.

- The tram passes over the railway bridge between Shyambazar and Belgachhia, near Tala.

- The tram passes under the railway bridge between Maniktala and Bidhannagar, near Kankurgachi (only under-level track), and between Kalighat and Tollygunge, near Rabindra Sarobar.

- The tram runs parallel over metro track from Shyambazar to Belgachhia, and from Jatin Das Park to Tollygunge.

- The tram track crosses metro track at Aurobinda Sarani, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bipin Bihari Gangopadhyay Street and Lenin Sarani.

- The tram runs on both sides of the road on Lenin Sarani and Surya Sen Street, and on either the right or left side on part of Acharya Prafulla Chandra Roy Road, part of Acharya Jagadish Chandra Basu Road, Judges Court Road, Diamond Harbour Road, Karl Marx Sarani, Kidderpur Road, Dufferin Road, Casuarina Avenue, Elliot Road, Royd Street and Rabindra Sarani. On all other streets, tram runs in the middle of the road.

- The tram runs on overpass only at Sealdah.

- The tram passes under overpass at Barhabazar, Wattganj, Race Course and Garhiahat.

- The tram crosses canals between Shyambazar and Belgachhia near Shyambazar, between Maniktala and Bidhannagar near Maniktala, between Jatin Das Park and Mominpur near Alipur, and between Wattganj and Esplanade near Wattganj.

- There are interchanges with metro at Belgachhia, Shyambazar, Esplanade, Kalighat and Tollygunge. Shobhabazar, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Central, Jatin Das Park and Rabindra Sarobar metro stations also have tram accessibility.

- There are interchanges with train at Bagbazar, Bidhannagar, Park Circus, Ballygunge, Kidderpore, B.B.D Bagh and Tollygunge. Sealdah and Tala rail stations also have tram accessibility.

ADVANTAGES & CRITICISM

Electric trams were the sole public transport until 1920, when the public bus was introduced in Kolkata. However, tram service until the 1950s was quite smooth and comfortable (although most new lines and extensions were built in pre-independence India). In 1950 there were around 300 tram cars, which were regularly operated on many routes in Kolkata and Howrah. Single-car trams operated on the Shibpur line until its closure; all other lines had double cars. Due to the large number of tram cars, the trams ran frequently (about a 5- to 7-minute wait between trams on all routes). This was possible due to less motor traffic on the roads than today. Derailments were very rare because of careful maintenance. All checkups were done at night, the water car was used for track smoothing and the tower car for wire-checking. Each tram was washed in the depot daily. Breakdown vans and overhead-wire inspection vans were ready at many junctions for quick repairs. Regular inspection of tracks, wires and so forth was done carefully. Tracks and track-bed gravel were replaced periodically for smoother service.

Anti-tram sentiment began about 1955, and spread around the world. Many countries (both developed and developing) began closing their tram systems, and India was no exception. Tram service closed in Kanpur in 1933, Chennai in 1955, Delhi in 1962 and Mumbai in 1964. Kolkata's network survived, but in a truncated form. At the same time the automobile boom began, quickly spreading throughout India.

Many streets were narrow (which was acceptable for tram service), but now cars, buses and lorries also used those roads. The government considered closing the trams, as an alternative to controlling motor traffic. Some routes (Bandhaghat, Shibpur and Nimtala) were closed for that reason, although traffic jams have not been alleviated. Many streets in Kolkata which have no tram line experience daily gridlock.

Although most track beds have been converted from stone to concrete, earlier paving of Strand Road closed the High Court route. Construction of the subway line also destroyed an important north-south connection, from Lalbazar to Jatin Das Park via Esplanade and Birla Planetarium. The development of overpasses is another reason for the decline of Kolkata trams. The Sealdah, Gariahat and Taratala overpasses were the main cause for the closing of the Sealdah terminus, Gahriahat link and the Joka route (which also made way for a national highway). There were many closures between 1970 and 1980, and many thought that it was the beginning of the end for trams in Kolkata, but the situation changed after 1990. At that time, many cities around the world began reevaluating tram service. Greater numbers of automobiles increased air pollution. High prices of petrol and diesel fuel on the international market also made electric-powered street rail more attractive.

Trams have many advantages:

- Clean and green – enhances the environment; no emissions at street level

- Safe – less prone to accidents

- Speedy – short trip times

- Avoid traffic congestion – through segregation and priority of routes

- Smooth and comfortable

- Pedestrian-friendly

- Civilizing – a city transported by trams is a less lonely place

- Acceptable and accepted – only rail-borne modes of transport can actually get people out of cars

- Reassuring – tram lines give confidence in accessibility

- High capacity – only metro systems have higher carrying capacity

- Affordable – the cheapest form of comfortable mass transit

- Versatile – can run at high speeds on rights-of-way way and can reach inner-city historic centers

- Adaptable – can cope with steep grades and tight curves

- Inspiring – modern trams can be aesthetically pleasing

- Heritage – Tramcars are a part of history.

Some political leaders (and many environmentalists) favored tram service. As a result the Kolkata tram survived, but not as robustly as it did before 1970. Tramways in Kolkata are now suffering, due to motor traffic and the outdated business model of its operators (the CTC and the government of West Bengal), although there has been some conversion of trackbed from stone to concrete and renovation of rolling stock.

Trams were the brainchild of the then-Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon. His motives were to ensure better public transport for the native people, better passage of goods from ports and dockyards to their respective destinations, and rapid mobilisation of police contingents to sites of anti-British protests. Thus, trams were the first mode of police transportation in Kolkata since police cars, vans, buses, lorries and armoured cars were not been introduced until 1917. The trams of Kolkata had played a major role in stopping Hindu-Muslim riots during the pre-independence era; in contrast, many trams were also burned by local people as an act of protest against colonial rule, since the tram was viewed by many Indians as a "British" import. Even after independence, during the 1960s many trams were burned for raising fares by only one paise (1/100 Rupee).

The Kolkata tramway has many vintage features. It still uses a trolley pole and foot gong (after a failed experiment with electric horn during the late 1980s), which is rare among international tram systems (except heritage tramways and standard networks like Hong Kong and Toronto). It has tram cars with no front glass or destination board – instead, iron route-boards hang from the front iron net. The last new rolling stock was manufactured in 1987 by Jessop India Ltd, and many trams from 1939 are still running. The recent de-reservation of tram tracks flies in the face of international trends. Although trams are faster, and derailments rare, it is often impossible to get up or down from a moving tram on wide roads such as Acharya Prafulla Chandra Roy Road, Acharya Jagadish Chandra Basu Road, Acharya Satyendra Nath Basu Sarani, Satin Sen Sarani, Syed Amir Ali Avenue, Lila Roy Sarani, Rash Behari Avenue, Deshapran Birendra Shasmal Road or Shyama Prasad Mukhopadhyay Road. Only one new branch (Bidhannagar) and one extension (the short-lived Joka) were built after independence, and no extension of the network had been planned until 2002. With a mix of good and bad, however, the Kolkata tram is still running as Asia's oldest operating electric tram and the only tram in India.

ACCIDENTS

On 19 June, 2014 a freak accident was reported in which a ghost tram rammed into 10 cars. No fatalities or injuries were reported.

FUTURE

Plans have been proposed to refurbish stock and wires, extend the system to more areas or tunnel under the Hooghly River. but (apart from paving the trackbed and repairing wires and masts), little real improvement has been done; for unmaterialized future plans, see the "latest Kolkata tram map" above. However, there have been some proposals to replace the current double-bogie SLC type trams with the new single-bogie trams and extend the tram system to places like Rajarhat and Bantala and reopening some closed routes. There are also plans for a tram route across the riverfront of the Hooghly River while plans are continuing for a tram route to Salt Lake and Rajarhat.

WIKIPEDIA

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