- Mamata Banerjee said she planned and sanctioned Kolkata Metro corridors as Union Railway Minister
- PM Narendra Modi will inaugurate 13 km of new metro tracks and three new routes today
- New metro routes include Noapara-Jai Hind Airport, Sealdah-Esplanade, Beleghata-Hemanta Mukhopadhyay
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee went down the memory lane, revisiting her time as the Union Railway Minister, when she was involved in the planning and sanctioning of a series of Metro railway corridors in Kolkata. She wrapped up her experience in an online post about an hour before three new routes would add to the city's metro network.
Kolkata was the first Indian city to get an underground metro rail network and has lately expanded to improve connectivity to the city's northern and southern ends, as well as the eastern and western fringes.
Continuing the progress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will today inaugurate 13 km of new metro tracks and launch train services on three new routes. Ms Banerjee, however, has reportedly decided to skip the event in the wake of the alleged harassment of migrants from West Bengal in BJP-ruled states.
The Trinamool chief, who has served as the country's railway minister twice during 1999-2000 and 2009-2011, first in the NDA government and then in the UPA era, said that expanding the city's Metro infrastructure has been a long journey for her.
"Allow me to be a little nostalgic today," she said in her post, adding, "As the Railways Minister of India, I was fortunate in planning and sanctioning series of Metro Railway corridors in metropolitan Kolkata. I had drawn the blueprints, arranged the funds, initiated the works and ensured that the different ends of the city (Joka, Garia, Airport, Sector V, etc) were connected by an intra-city Metro grid."
Later, as the Chief Minister of West Bengal, she said she had the privilege of taking part in the execution of the projects.
"From the State, I arranged free land, paved roads, arranged rehabilitation of displaced people, removed impediments, and ensured all help in the execution of projects. Our chief secretaries successively held series of coordination meeting to ensure integration of execution agencies. My planning as Railways Minister got fulfilment in my participation in execution," she added.
The country's metro rail service was started in Kolkata in 1984, connecting the northern and southern ends of the city's then peripheries, and an east-west section was added later in 2020 to connect Salt Lake and Howrah through Kolkata.
The three new stretches that would now add to the city's vast metro network are the Noapara-Jai Hind Bimanbandar section, Sealdah-Esplanade section, and Beleghata-Hemanta Mukhopadhyay section.
The Noapara-Jai Hind Bimanbandar section will improve access to the city's airport, while the Sealdah-Esplanade metro service will reduce the travel time by nearly half an hour. The Beleghata-Hemanta Mukhopadhyay section will strengthen connectivity with the city's IT hub, the government has said.
