MillenniumPost
Bengal

Construction of Kolkata Eye to begin in next 2-3 months

Kolkata: Construction of Kolkata Eye is going to start in the next two to three months near Millennium Park.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had decided to set up Kolkata Eye, which would be similar to that of London Eye, as a major step to beautify the city that will also help in attracting tourists from all over the world.
Firhad Hakim, the state Urban Development and Municipal Affairs minister, said: "The tender to engage a company to construct the Kolkata Eye has been floated and the work is expected to start by January and latest by February."
He further said the height of London Eye is 135 metre. Initially, there was a problem in setting up the same here as there is space constrain.
The plot where the London Eye has come up is comparatively bigger in size than that of the area where the Kolkata Eye is coming up. So the engineers have said that it would not be possible to make it of 135 metre height. The plot near Millennium Park where the Kolkata Eye will come up is situated between the tracks of Circular Railway and the bank of river Hooghly. The length of the plot from the railway tracks to the river is only 40 metres and again it has to be set up leaving 10 metre from the river bank. So there will be only 30 metre left in between. Though initially the engineers were considering that it will not be possible to set up the 135 metre high Kolkata Eye, the minister has urged them to utilise more developed engineering methods so that it can be made possible.
Hakim said the tender has been floated and he is hopeful that world-class companies will be participating in it and those which are technically viable will be doing the work as it is a high-precision affair. Though the step to set up the Kolkata Eye had been taken a few years ago and the process had also begun, but for many issues it got delayed. It took around two years to get the clearance from the Kolkata Port Trust as there was a change in policy with a new government at the Centre and then the Green Tribunal had directed to conduct a study to assess the environmental impact.
If all goes according to plan, Kolkata Eye will be complete in 24 months from the date of its commencement.
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