Kolkata is going to add a new feather to its cap. It has come to the knowledge that Kolkata, the first city in the country to have a metro railway network, is also going to have the first and foremost underwater rail connection in the country. This was cleared by the Union Cabinet in the recent days and is associated with the saga of the extension of the Kolkata metro with its neighboring city of Howrah. This new project, as has been learnt, is going to include a tunnel under the River Hooghly.
According to the information from privileged sources, the estimated cost of the project will be around Rs 4,676 crore and will bridge over Howrah and Salt lake. It is to be noted while the former is one of the busiest railway stations in the Eastern India the later is the emblem of a resurgent Bengal by means of Information Technology. The communication, a has been found, will be over 13.77 km with 8 km running underground. What is more this will be a joint venture project an will be executed through a 50:50 participation between the Government of West Bengal and the Union Government. To the sources JBIC of Japan ahs already shown considerable interest in the entire project and will therefore fund the metro link but partially.
The Union Cabinet also approved the constitution of a Special Purpose Vehicle for the project. Speaking on this the Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, also known to be the mastermind behind the project said, “The SPV will be constituted for the successful execution of the project as well as its operation and maintenance."
It is expected that the project will be completed in a period of six-and-a-half years and in two stages. The first stage, of these two, is about 5.77 km and is the elevated section which is expected to be commissioned in five-and-a-half years. The project report, which was prepared by Delhi metro chief E Sreedharan, stipulates a two-tier fare structure of Rs 8 and Rs 16.
To conclude, once completed it will totally change the scenario of Kolkata and its vicinity.
