Doctor to be next sheriff

KOLKATA: Eminent neurosurgeon Indrajit Ray, who has been selected the next sheriff of Kolkata, wants to do his bit to widen the pavements to prevent pedestrians from walking along busy streets. "I know that the sheriff does not have any executive powers but hecan get a hearing. People will listen if he speaks. I want to return thepavements to the pedestrians. As it is, road space in Kolkata is less than inother metros. To make matters worse, the traffic count has gone up manifold. Atsome places, cars are parked on the pavements. Pedestrians are forced to walk onthe street," Ray said. He also has plans to provide hawkersalternate locations to do business. "Throwing out the hawkers is nosolution. They will also have to be accommodated. I will speak to people who arein charge and try to make them understand. Utpal Chatterjee (who Ray willsucceed) has done a wonderful job towards creating awareness on greenery. Letssee how much I can achieve," he said. The neurosurgeon feels a lotcan be done for the extremely beautiful' city. All that is required is someconcern. Ray, who was associated with Bangur Institute of Neurology andInstitute of Post Graduate Medicine and Research (IPGM&R) till 1990, trainedin micro-neurosurgery in Zurich,Switzerland.