Will red Writers' give Mamata the blues?

While the idea of restoration has been welcomed, the decision to shift the secretariat to Howrah across the Ganges, has sent the workforce into a tizzy.



"Shifting the secretariat with its entire infrastructure is just impossible. It will paralyse the whole administration," Malay Mukherjee of the Congress affiliated employees' union told IANS.

"Writers' is a treasure of historic documents, many of them from the British era. Who will bear the responsibility if these documents are lost or destroyed?" asked Ananta Bandopadhyay of the Left affiliated Coordination Committee of the employees.

Both the unions have planned mass movements against the Oct 1 shifting of the secretariat to the 14-storied HRBC building in Howrah.

However, the Trinamool Congress affiliated employees' union feels the decision was long overdue.

"If the building is not repaired, along with valuable documents, hundreds or may be thousands of lives may be lost as a fire tragedy may happen any time," said Soumya Biswas of the union.

Regal and Gothic in appearance, the Writers' has hosted varied political masters - from the imperialists to communists and now the 'didi' regime, as Mamata Banerjee is popularly known.