Mamata to inaugurate Majerhat Bridge today

Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will inaugurate the newly constructed cable-stayed Jai Hind Bridge (Majerhat Bridge) on Diamond Harbour Road near Taratala in South Kolkata on Thursday.

It is going to bring an end to the long wait of the residents of South Kolkata, mainly Behala, for the past two years who faced immense inconvenience in reaching the central business district since the decades-old bridge collapsed on September 4 in 2018.

Banerjee, who named the bridge as Jai Hind Bridge paying tribute to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose with the state government organising year-long programmes celebrating his 125th birth anniversary, will be inaugurating the same at 5 pm from the inaugural programme at the intersection of Diamond Harbour Road and NR Avenue.

It was the decision of the Chief Minister to build a new one after the old structure collapsed claiming three lives. Accordingly, the state Public Works Department took all the necessary initiatives. However, completion of the construction of the bridge adjacent to Majerhat Railway Station witnessed a setback of around nine months due to the alleged delay by the Railways in giving various clearances. The Chief Minister had to write twice to get the clearance of the launching scheme of the bridge. Finally, the approval to open the bridge for the public was received last week and Banerjee decided to inaugurate the same on Thursday.