On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate Kolkata water metro . It’s India’s first-ever water Metro route. Top officials and dignitaries will also attend the inauguration ceremony.
The Prime Minister will also inaugurate Kolkata’s Kavi Subhash-Hemanta Mukhopadhyay and the Taratala-Majerhat Metro sections. These are part of the Joka-Esplanade line. Also, on Wednesday afternoon, PM will address a public rally in Barasat, North 24 Parganas district.
About Kolkata Water Metro TunnelÂ
The project was built for Rs 4,965 crore. It reaches a depth of 30 meters below the group level. This underwater Metro service is part of the Howrah Maidan-Esplanade section of Kolkata Metro’s East-West corridor, which will cover a distance of 16.6 km under the Hooghly River.
The Metro connects Hooghly on the west bank to Salt Lake City on the east bank. Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Limited (KMRCL) is executing this project. The underground route stretches approximately 10.8 km, while a viaduct elevates the other 5.75 km.
Further, the Metro is expected to cover the 520-meter in just 45 seconds. This is India’s first transport tunnel, passing through a significant river, showing a critical milestone in the country’s infrastructure development.
Does this Underwater tunnel Idea comes from British time?
According to a BBC report, the concept of an underwater transportation system in Kolkata goes to a Bengal-born British engineer, Harley Dalrymple-Hay, who built it in 1921. The plan is to cover the 10.6 km underground railway. This will connect Kolkata and Howrah beneath the Hooghly River and ten stops. However, the project never released due to funding challenges, and soil tests yielded negative results.
According to a news report, In 1928, the city’s electricity supply company (CESC) approached Harley to build a tunnel under the Hooghly for power cables. By accepting the project, Harley built the tunnel that became the first ever Kolkata underwater tunnel in 1931, which witnessed the transmission of power cables between Kolkata and Howrah.
Kolkata Metro has been served since 1984. It is India’s first metro system and the fifth in Asia, which covers a distance of 3.40 km with five stations between Netaji Bhavan and Esplanade.
