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Bengal

Construction work on Kalighat skywalk set to begin soon

Kolkata: The Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) is set to begin the construction of the proposed 450 metre skywalk near Kalighat Temple in South Kolkata, for facilitating the movement of devotees that visit the temple.

Member, Mayor-in-Council (Parks and Gardens) Debasish Kumar said that tender has been floated

for construction of the skywalk and the construction will begin within this year.

"As per plans, the skywalk will be constructed from Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Road and will go up to the Kalighat police station. Apart from that, the hawkers who have shops in the Kalighat Refugee Hawkers Corner on S P Mukherjee Road, will also be rehabilitated to a building which will be constructed in its place," said Kumar.

The Kalighat Refugee Hawkers Corner, which is a flea market in the area, hosts around 160 shops inside the corner and 70 shops outside the corner. Hundreds of people flock to the market on a daily basis as the corner is near the temple.

Sanjoy Ghosh, a committee member of Kalighat Refugee Hawkers Corner, said: "We have placed a certain number of demands in front of the authorities, regarding the size of each of the shops, the location of our temporary shops during the construction of the building and others. They have visited the area multiple times and have also taken the measurements of all the shops. We will be sitting down for discussion with the authorities soon."

The authorities are also planning to revamp the area as shops are being constructed outside the temple for the shopkeepers who have stalls inside the temple.

Local councillor of the Kalighat area Manjusree Majumdar said thousands of devotees visit the temple on a daily basis and purchase flowers, incense sticks, candles and other things required in the puja ceremonies. The stalls which operate inside the temple cause a lot of litter, which is why they are being shifted outside the temple.

"The construction of the concrete shops outside the temple began in December but we do not know when we will get our shops. The construction of these shops will beautify the area as the whole system will be more organised. It will also attract more visitors to the temple, which will boost our income," said Laltu Biswas, a stall owner in the temple.

Last year, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had inaugurated the Rani Rashmoni skywalk at Dakshineswar before Kali Puja, where she had asked her concerned government officials to build a similar skywalk at Kalighat.

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